‘Thunderbolts’ and ‘Sinners’ top box office charts once more
[May 12, 2025]
By LINDSEY BAHR
Marvel’s “Thunderbolts” and Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners” dominated the North
American box office charts again this weekend.
Now in their second and fourth weekends respectively, the two films had
some new competition, including a horror movie, a Kerry Washington
action pic, a Josh Hartnett airplane thriller, and a
Shakespeare-inspired musical. None of the additions made a significant
impact.
“Thunderbolts” took first place, with $33.1 million from theaters in the
U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. That's down 55%
from its opening. Internationally, it added $34 million, bringing its
global total to $272.2 million. In just two weekends, the Walt Disney
Co. release is already the fourth biggest of the year, globally and
domestically.
The movie is also faring better than the previous Marvel movie, “Captain
America: Brave New World,” which took a big 68% dive in its second
weekend. The key difference was reviews, which don’t always dictate the
fate of superhero movies, but good word of mouth has helped
“Thunderbolts.”
“The holding power of this film harkens back to the heyday of Marvel,”
said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “The
currency of the long-term playability is more important than the sheer
opening weekends.”
The studio also has another big movie coming later this summer in “The
Fantastic Four: First Steps.”
“Sinners,” meanwhile, crossed the $200 million mark in North American
ticket sales this weekend, which is especially notable for an original
R-rated movie. It added $21.1 million domestically, and $6.6 million
internationally, bringing its global total to $283.3 million. Next
weekend, it’s also returning to 70mm IMAX screens “by popular demand,”
IMAX said.
Warner Bros.’ other juggernaut, “A Minecraft Movie,” has made $409
million domestically and $909.6 million globally in its six weekends in
theaters. It added just under $8 million to take third place this
weekend, followed by “The Accountant 2” in fourth with $6.1 million.
Several new movies also opened in wide release this weekend, but none
seemed to break through the noise. The biggest of the bunch was “Clown
in a Cornfield,” which earned $3.7 million (a relative high water mark
for its distributor IFC) and cracked the top five.
“The second weekend in May, there is typically a bit of a lull,”
Dergarabedian said. “IFC picked a perfect date for this clown to scare
people into the theater."
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Bob Iger, left, CEO of the Walt Disney Company, and Kevin Feige,
president of Marvel Studios, pose together at the premiere of the
film "Thunderbolts" at the Dolby Theatre, Monday, April 28, 2025, in
Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
 “Shadow Force,” a Lionsgate action
pic with Washington and Omar Sy from “The Grey” filmmaker Joe
Carnahan, made $2 million from 2,170 screens. Vertical’s “Flight or
Fight,” starring Hartnett as a mercenary on a plane full of
assassins, also debuted with an estimated $2 million from 2,153
screens.
In limited release, the Tim Robinson and Paul Rudd movie
“Friendship” launched on six screens in New York and Los Angeles and
scored the best per-screen average of the year ($75,317) with many
sellouts reported. A24 plans to expand the release nationwide over
Memorial Day.
Overall, it was a relatively quiet weekend, but thanks to “A
Minecraft Movie,” “Sinners” and “Thunderbolts,” the year-to-date box
office is up around 16% from last year, according to Comscore data.
Compared with 2019, however, it’s down over 32%.
Next week, “Final Destination: Bloodlines” should give the
marketplace another jolt before two giants debut over the holiday
weekend: “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible – The Final
Reckoning.”
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list
factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at
U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. “Thunderbolts,” $33.1 million.
2. “Sinners,” $21.1 million.
3. “A Minecraft Movie,” $8 million.
4. “The Accountant 2,” $6.1 million.
5. “Clown in a Cornfield,” $3.7 million.
6. “Shadow Force,” $2 million.
7. “Fight or Flight,” $2 million.
8. “Until Dawn,” $2 million.
9. “The Amateur,” $1.1 million.
10. “The King of Kings,” $680,656.
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