Box Office: ‘Minecraft’ Is Already the Highest-Grossing Domestic Release of 2025; Angel Studios’ ‘King of Kings’ Outdoing ‘The Amateur,’ ‘Drop’

A Minecraft Movie" was certain to win big at the domestic box office on its second weekend, but several other new movies are also helping theaters. Of those, Angel Studios’ animated biblical film “The King of Kings” is leading the pack, heading for second place ahead of titles from major studios like “The Amateur” and “Drop.”

Warner Bros. and Legendary's "A Minecraft Movie" continues to rise to the top of the charts, earning $20.5 million on Friday. The comedy adaptation of Mojang’s video game bestseller is expected to earn north of $80 million in its second frame, which would rank as the third-biggest weekend gross of the year behind its own smash $162 million opening and not far off from the $88 million debut of Disney’s “Captain America: Brave New World.” Talk about a huge success! Now projecting a drop around 50%, “Minecraft” likely won’t match the superlative holds put up by titles like fellow video game adaptation “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (a 36% second-weekend fall) or Warner’s other IP breakout “Barbie” (a 42% slide). But it’s impressive staying power nonetheless, demonstrating that “Minecraft” has crossed over beyond the property’s built-in fanbase that rushed to buy tickets on opening weekend. Plus, it only took seven days for “A Minecraft Movie” to surpass a $200 million domestic gross and solidify its status as the year’s top-grossing North American release. Now all that remains is to see how high it can rise. Favorite on Variety Even with a PG-rated juggernaut topping the market, animated film “The King of Kings” is proving a competitive option for family audiences, landing in second place on domestic charts. The film, which was made in Korea and is loosely based on "The Life of Our Lord" by Charles Dickens, made about $6.8 million on Friday from preview screenings at more than 3,200 locations. Angel is also offering a program called "Kids Go Free" to get more families to come to the show. This program gives kids free admission if they buy one adult ticket. Competitors now project the film is headed to an opening around $18 million.

If it overperforms a bit, it could even land the biggest opening ever for independent distributor Angel Studios, which last made a big splash with the R-rated human trafficking thriller “Sound of Freedom” in July 2023. That film debuted to $19 million before legging out a staggering $184 million domestic finish, outgrossing major Hollywood summer blockbusters like “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning.” In the two years since, Angel has been a more quiet, though still a regular presence in theaters, releasing modest dramas, often with a faith-based message. Their biggest success since "Freedom" was "Homestead," an apocalyptic thriller released in December of last year that made $20 million domestically and had an abrupt conclusion that hinted at a television sequel series for Angel's streaming service. The animated feature looks like it will become Angel's second-biggest hit ever in just a few days because "King of Kings" is outperforming traditional studio releases. Angel is hoping that the Easter holiday next weekend will boost business. The movie, which also stars Pierce Brosnan, Mark Hamill, Forest Whitaker, Ben Kingsley, Kenneth Branagh, and Uma Thurman as Jesus Christ, has received mixed reviews. But Angel always resonates with its target audience; moviegoer survey firm Cinema Score’s pristine “A+” grade would indicate that they’ve done that again.

Of the other new openings, “The Amateur” is drawing the biggest crowd, with the Rami Malek revenge thriller earning $6 million across Friday and preview screenings from 3,400 locations, now hoping for a three-day north of $15 million. This weekend, "Minecraft" and A24's "Warfare" will share Imax and other premium large-format auditoriums with the Disney release, which is produced by 20th Century Studios. The PG-13 vigilante film, which was directed by James Hawes and cost $60 million to produce, will have to stay in theaters to fully justify its cost. Despite mixed reviews, audiences are more favorable (a "B+" grade from Cinema Score). The race for fourth and fifth is more competitive, but the real-time Iraqi thriller "Warfare" currently holds the advantage, earning approximately $3.5 million across Friday's preview screenings in 2,670 theaters and aiming for an $8 million debut. After launching a breakout hit with "Civil War" a year ago, filmmaker Alex Garland and A24 team up again for the R-rated military ensemble piece. Co-directed by veteran Ray Mendoza, “Warfare” was a cheaper production than most studio films, though on the pricier side by A24 standards. The indie label will try to get a long run in theaters if it gets great reviews and a lot of positive feedback from the audience (a Cinema Score of "A-"). Universal’s modern suspense thriller “Drop” isn’t too far behind, earning $3.3 million across Friday and preview screenings from 3,085 locations, heading to a $7.7 million debut. The PG-13 Blumhouse production, which teams “White Lotus” breakout Meghann Fahy and “It Ends With Us” star Brandon Sklenar on a first date gone terribly wrong, cost $11 million to produce and will aim to buoy its box office with great reviews. Cinema Score turned in a more measured “B” grade among moviegoers for the Christopher Landon-directed feature.

Just outside the top five, Fathom Events is bowing its third and final package of episodes for “The Chosen: Last Supper” this weekend. During Friday and the previews, this group made $2.5 million. The specialty banner has broken up Season 5 of 5&2 Studios’ Biblical adaptation into three theatrical releases, with finale Episodes 7-8 coming this frame. The first two bundles, which debuted over the two weeks prior, have collectively earned more than $28 million so far.