Box Office: Marvel’s ‘Thunderbolts*’ Rolls in With $31.5 Million Opening Day, ‘Sinners’ Scoring Another Superb Hold

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It’s expected that “Marvel’s Thunderbolts” will outperform at the weekend box office, having earned approximately $31.5 million during its opening day and previews across 4,330 cinemas. This suggests a domestic debut of around $70-$75 million for this ensemble action film featuring Marvel’s less superpowered characters. Additionally, the movie will benefit from increased earnings in Imax and other premium-sized theater formats.

Kickstarting what could be referred to as a fresh franchise (even though many “Thunderbolts” characters have previously appeared in other Marvel Cinematic Universe films), this upcoming release may signal a shift in Marvel Studios’ prominence at the box office. If predictions are accurate, this new movie might rank among the lower openings within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s also possible that its opening weekend earnings will be less than “Black Widow” ($80 million), which starred Scarlett Johansson as an original Avenger and showcased Florence Pugh and David Harbour, two future Thunderbolts characters, along with introducing audiences to the Guardians of the Galaxy, whose debut brought in $94 million.

Speaking as a film critic, I must admit that “Thunderbolts” is currently lagging behind Disney’s latest Marvel production, “Captain America: A New World,” which stormed its way to an impressive opening day gross of $40.9 million in February, ultimately raking in $88 million over the first three days. The advantage that “Captain America: A New World” had was the established brand recognition tied to the “Captain America” title, however, it faced a wave of negative reviews and fan criticism. Despite this rocky start, it managed to earn a modest 2.2x multiplier, closing its run in North America with a total of $200 million.

The anticipation for Marvel’s “Thunderbolts” is that it might start with smaller box office numbers but could have a more substantial impact in the long run. This latest comic book release has garnered some of the best reviews in recent times. Audience reactions are also favorable, with the movie pollster Cinema Score giving it an “A-” grade, which is higher than the MCU’s low “B-” for “Brave New World.” With a production cost of $180 million and an additional $100 million spent on marketing and distribution, “Thunderbolts” needs to be well-received globally and demonstrate strong staying power to make a profit in theaters.

In addition to Pugh and Harbour, the cast of “Thunderbolts” includes popular Marvel actor Sebastian Stan, along with Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The film is directed by Jake Schreier.

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Besides Pugh and Harbour, “Thunderbolts” boasts a star-studded lineup that includes Marvel veteran Sebastian Stan, as well as Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Jake Schreier is the director of this film.

On Friday, “Sinners” held strong once again, earning $9.5 million, a decrease of only 27% compared to its daily earnings a week prior. However, this week, it surrendered Imax and most premium large-format theaters to “Thunderbolts.” Yet, despite losing this additional income from luxury tickets, some predict that the film will only drop by 25% in its third weekend, according to certain competitors.

Ryan Coogler’s vampire thriller has been exhibiting remarkable longevity since its release two weeks ago, already multiplying its $48 million opening weekend earnings by more than threefold. If this trend continues, “Sinners” is likely to overtake “Captain America: Brave New World” and claim the position of the second-highest earning North American movie release of 2025.

Warner Bros.’ “Minecraft” film holds third place in its fifth week, continuing to attract audiences. The film produced by Legendary Entertainment made an additional $3.1 million on Friday (a 42% drop), bringing its total domestic earnings to $387.6 million. In the coming days, it is expected to surpass $400 million in domestic gross and enter the top 50 of all-time highest domestic grossers. This weekend, Warner Bros. also introduced special “Block Party Edition” screenings, where viewers are invited to sing along and mimic internet memes on screen for a more engaging experience. (This follows some cinemas issuing warnings against shouting and participating in TikTok trends after particularly lively opening weekend viewings.)

In fourth position is “The Accountant 2,” garnering an additional $2.6 million on Friday. The sequel, released by Amazon MGM, is projected to make $9.8 million over its second weekend, which represents a 60% decrease from its opening weekend. This places it around 11% below the original 2016 “Accountant” in terms of performance — not the strongest outcome, given that this film had a much higher production budget of $80 million. Despite its vast subscriber base on Prime Video (along with numerous other business interests outside entertainment), Amazon may be less concerned about box office earnings compared to traditional studios. However, it’s worth questioning whether Amazon anticipated “The Accountant 2” would have a larger theatrical impact than what we’re currently seeing.

On its first day, “Until Dawn” has raked in approximately $1.1 million, placing it among the top five earners. Predictions suggest that it will earn around $3.6 million during its second weekend, which would represent a 55% decrease from its initial earnings.

In its debut on Friday, “Until Dawn” made about $1.1 million and entered the top five highest-earning games. Estimates suggest it could make $3.6 million during its second weekend, which would be a 55% drop from its opening earnings.

This weekend, “The Surfer,” a thrilling movie starring Nicolas Cage, is set to open in 884 locations from Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate. It made $320,000 on Friday, but may have trouble cracking the top 10 in its debut.

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2025-05-03 18:47