“A Minecraft Movie” partial poster.
Although Sinners is giving A Minecraft Movie a run for its money, the latter is looking like it will win the domestic box office for a third consecutive weekend.
Written and directed by Ryan Coogler and starring Michael B. Jordan in dual roles, the vampire thriller Sinners opened Friday in 3,308 North American theaters. The film played in Thursday previews where it earned $4.7 million.
While Sinners is projected to earn $18 million on Friday — $1.5 million more than A Minecraft Movie — Deadline is projecting that Jack Black and Jason Momoa’s big-screen adaptation of Mojang Studios’ iconic video game Minecraft will once again win the Easter Weekend box office.
A Minecraft Movie, which opened on April 4 and earned $163 million in its opening frame and $78.5 million more last weekend, is projected by Deadline to earn $44 million from 4,032 North American theaters through Sunday.
Sinners, meanwhile is projected by Deadline to earn $40 million in its opening weekend frame for a No. 2 finish.
The numbers for both films fall closely in line with pre-release projections from most of Hollywood’s trade publications, which targeted a $40 million to $45 million take for A Minecraft Movie.
Deadline, however, gave the edge to A Minecraft Movie with an estimated take of $47 million. Variety, though, projected that Sinners could earn anywhere from $40 million to $50 million.
Either way, Warner Bros. is the big winner at this weekend’s box office since it’s the studio behind both A Minecraft Movie and Sinners.
A Minecraft Movie eclipsed the $300 million mark in ticket sales Thursday when it earned $6.5 million to boost its domestic tally to $303.3 million heading into Friday. Combined with its $273.3 million in international receipts, A Minecraft Movie ended the day Thursday with $576.6 million in earnings at the worldwide box office.
Michael B Jordan plays twins in “Sinners.”
‘The King Of Kings’ Aims For The No. 3 Spot At The Domestic Weekend Box Office
While A Minecraft Movie and Sinners are poised to take the No. 1 and 2 spots at the domestic box office, Angel Studios’ The King of Kings may end up being the weekend’s biggest success story.
The animated biblical movie is projected by Deadline to earn $17 million from Friday through Easter Sunday — a mere $2 million less than its recording-breaking opening frame from April 11-14. Should the projection hold up, it will boost The King of King’s domestic tally to $45 million.
Two other films that opened last week— 20th Century Studio’s The Amateur and A24’s Warfare — are projected by Deadline to earn $8 million and $4 million, respectively to take the No. 4 and 5 spots at this weekend’s domestic box office.
Note: This box office report will be updated throughout the weekend with the most recent numbers as they become available. The final numbers for this weekend’s box office will be released on Monday.