Los Angeles, California — The vampire thriller “Sinners” has carved a commanding path at the box office, set to maintain its position as the top film for a second consecutive weekend. Directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan, the film triumphed over new contenders, including Ben Affleck’s action sequel “The Accountant 2,” Sony’s game-inspired film “Until Dawn,” and Disney’s re-release of “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.”
Warner Bros. reported that “Sinners” raked in $13 million on Friday, reflecting just an 8% drop from the previous week despite an increase in theater count from 3,308 to 3,347. A significant factor contributing to its impressive hold is the robust demand for premium formats like IMAX, which accounted for 20% of revenue during its opening weekend.
With a production budget of $90 million, “Sinners” has exceeded expectations, consistently outpacing industry projections in North America. It achieved the number one spot last week, outperforming “A Minecraft Movie,” with its opening weekend marking the largest debut for an original film since 2019. The film is on track to surpass the $100 million mark in domestic earnings this weekend, less than nine days after its release.
While some analysts predict that “Sinners” could experience a weekend drop below 10%, this would mark the most remarkable second-weekend performance for a film opening above $45 million since “Avatar” saw a mere 1.8% decline in December 2009. This achievement is particularly notable since “Sinners” isn’t benefiting from any holiday. Such performance is rare; the last original film to surpass $200 million domestically was Pixar’s “Coco.”
“Sinners”‘s continued success highlights a strong and largely unmet demand for original blockbuster content, particularly when talented filmmakers take the reins. The film has stood its ground against newer releases, including “The Accountant 2” and “Until Dawn,” both of which rely on existing intellectual property.
“The Accountant 2” secured $9.4 million in ticket sales from Friday and preview screenings, showing promise with a weekend total projected around $25 million. This marks a slight improvement from the original film’s $24 million opening in 2016. The sequel, which features familiar faces Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal, costs $80 million to produce, nearly double that of its predecessor. Positive reviews from its SXSW Festival premiere have buoyed audience interest, reflected in a strong Cinema Score grade of “A-.”
Despite the increased production costs, Amazon MGM may have expected a stronger opening weekend for “The Accountant 2.” The film’s box office performance will be scrutinized as Amazon continues to balance its theatrical ventures and streaming aspirations.
In third place, Disney’s re-release of “Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith” earned about $11.3 million across Friday and preview nights. Although it may ease over the weekend, it is on track for a three-day total surpassing $20 million. The film enjoys a strong fan base, doubling the earnings of last year’s re-release of “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.”
“Until Dawn,” an adaptation from Sony’s popular video game series, opened in fifth, generating $3.2 million on its first day. While projections anticipate its total could rise above $7 million, early reviews and a mediocre Cinema Score grade of “C+” raise concerns about its staying power. The film had a modest production budget of $15 million.
Warner Bros. also held fourth place with “A Minecraft Movie,” which earned $5.1 million in its fourth weekend. The family comedy adaptation has seen substantial popularity, poised to surpass $377 million domestically, edging out “Jurassic World Dominion” as it climbs the charts.
In a limited rollout, A24’s fantasy adventure “The Legend of Ochi” expanded to 1,150 locations, bringing in approximately $610,000 on Friday. Expectations for the weekend point to a total in the low seven-digit range as it seeks to gain audience traction.