{"id":93199,"date":"2025-05-11T16:53:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T16:53:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/93199\/"},"modified":"2025-05-11T16:53:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T16:53:09","slug":"thunderbolts-second-weekend-minecraft-box-office-milestone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/93199\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Thunderbolts*’ Second Weekend, ‘Minecraft’ Box Office Milestone"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tMarvel\u2019s \u201cThunderbolts<\/a>*\u201d remained No. 1 at the box office, collecting $33.1 million in its second weekend of release.<\/p>\n

\n\tTicket sales declined by 55% from its $74 million debut, marking a far better hold than recent Marvel adventures that slid significantly in their second weekends, such as February\u2019s \u201cCaptain America: Brave New World\u201d (down 68% in its sophomore outing), 2023\u2019s \u201cAnt Man and the Wasp: Quantumania\u201d (down 70%), \u201cThe Marvels\u201d (down a whopping 78%) and 2022\u2019s \u201cThor: Love and Thunder\u201d (down 67%).<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThunderbolts*\u201d started softer than all of those tentpoles (except for \u201cThe Marvels\u201d), but solid reviews and positive word-of-mouth could help the movie stick around on the big screen. After opening weekend, Disney tried to stoke interest in \u201cThunderbolts*\u201d by unveiling the meaning behind the asterisk in the film\u2019s title \u2014 the ragtag group at the helm will henceforth be known as \u201cThe New Avengers.\u201d The studio also revealed the motley crew of antiheroes\u00a0will make an appearance in 2026\u2019s \u201cAvengers: Doomsday.\u201d Disney hopes that piece of casting news will inspire audiences to want to get to know the Thunderbolts before next year\u2019s epic superhero mashup.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo far, \u201cThunderbolts*\u201d has generated $128.5 million in North America and $272 million globally. Since the film cost $180 million to produce and approximately $100 million to market, \u201cThunderbolts*\u201d needs to outperform expectations to justify its hefty price tag.<\/p>\n

\n\tDisney\u2019s CEO Bob Iger praised \u201cThunderbolts*\u201d earlier this week, calling the offbeat superhero adventure the \u201cfirst and best\u201d example of Marvel\u2019s new movie strategy. That\u2019s after the MCU had fielded the critical and commercial misfires of \u201cAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,\u201d \u201cThe Marvels\u201d and \u201cCaptain America: Brave New World.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve learned over time that quantity does not necessarily beget quality,\u201d Iger said during an investor call<\/a>. \u201cAnd frankly, we\u2019ve all admitted to ourselves that we lost a little focus by making too much.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s good news for theater owners because Disney has its third and final Marvel sequel of the year with \u201cThe Fantastic Four: First Steps\u201d on July 25. <\/p>\n

\n\tMeanwhile, \u201cA Minecraft Movie\u201d and \u201cSinners\u201d cleared notable box office benchmarks, an indication of each film\u2019s remarkable big screen endurance. As \u201cThunderbolts*\u201d and those holdovers continue to dominate at the box office, three new releases had to mostly settle for scraps.<\/p>\n

\n\tLow-budget horror slasher \u201cClown in a Cornfield\u201d managed to crack the top five with $3.8 million from 2,277 theaters. It\u2019s actually an impressive total for the film, which reportedly cost under $1 million to make. It\u2019s the biggest opening weekend to date for IFC, surpassing the indie\u2019s prior record holder, 2024\u2019s \u201cLate Night With the Devil,\u201d which powered to $2.8 million to start. As the title suggests, \u201cClown in a Cornfield\u201d centers on a masked killer named Frendo who deposits many of his victims in a quiet town\u2019s cornfield. Given the gruesome terror that unfolds on screen, it\u2019s not surprising that \u201cClown in a Cornfield\u201d fielded a rough \u201cC+\u201d grade on CinemaScore exit polls.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThat kind of audience score is common for the genre,\u201d says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. \u201cThis is a solid opening for an indie horror film, particularly for a micro-budget production like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis weekend\u2019s two other newcomers landed outside of the top five. Lionsgate\u2019s action thriller \u201cShadow Force\u201d and Vertical Entertainment\u2019s airplane caper \u201cFight or Flight\u201d are battling for the ignominious distinction of eighth place on box office charts. Each film is estimated to open to $2 million from roughly 2,100 theaters, with the final number to be reported on Monday.<\/p>\n

\n\tKerry Washington stars in \u201cShadow Force,\u201d a poorly reviewed film about married ex-assassins on the run from former colleagues. Against a $40 million budget, \u201cShadow Force\u201d is shaping up to be the first major bomb of the summer. Lionsgate typically covers approximately two-thirds of its production budget with international sales, which helps recoup theatrical losses for underperforming movies.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFight or Flight\u201d features Josh Hartnett as a disgraced Secret Service agent who is recruited to identify and protect a wanted criminal aboard a commercial airline. Vertical acquired the film\u2019s North America rights for single digits, so \u201cFight or Flight\u201d has a much lower barrier to achieve profitability. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201c\u2018Shadow Force\u2019 will quickly move from theaters to streaming and try to recoup its production cost there,\u201d says Gross. Of \u201cFight or Flight,\u201d he adds, \u201cThis is a soft opening for an indie action thriller, a genre that struggles at the box office.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn second place, \u201cSinners\u201d remained strong with $21.1 million in its fourth frame, down just 36% from its prior outing. The vampire thriller continues to enjoy unprecedented holds at the domestic box office and, over the weekend, crossed a major milestone in the $200 million mark. Now, ticket sales for the R-rated film stand at $216 million domestically and $68\u00a0million overseas for a worldwide total of $283\u00a0million.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cA Minecraft Movie\u201d remained at No. 3 with $8 million in its sixth weekend on the big screen. So far, the Warner Bros. video game adaptation has generated a mighty $409 million in North America and $909 million globally. As long as the movie sustains momentum during the busy summer season, \u201cMinecraft\u201d is primed to be the year\u2019s first billion-dollar release.<\/p>\n

\n\tBen Affleck\u2019s action thriller \u201cThe Accountant 2\u201d stayed in fourth place with $6.09 million in its third frame, declining just 36% from the prior weekend. The Amazon MGM film has grossed $50.8 million domestically and $71 million worldwide. It\u2019s an impressive total for the R-rated sequel, especially since the film is aimed at older audiences, but \u201cThe Accountant 2\u201d carries a steep $80 million price tag. Since studios and theater owners split ticket sales, the movie may struggle to get out of the red in its theatrical run.<\/p>\n

\n\tOverall, the box office is down 11% compared to the same weekend in 2024 when Disney\u2019s \u201cKingdom of the Planet of the Apes\u201d touched down with $58 million. After this weekend, though, domestic revenues are 15.8% ahead of 2024 while still 32.5% behind 2019, according to Comscore. <\/p>\n

\n\tSummer movie season<\/a>, which regularly accounts for 40% of the annual box office, heats up with Warner Bros. and New Line\u2019s \u201cFinal Destination: Bloodlines\u201d on May 16 and Disney\u2019s \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d and Paramount\u2019s \u201cMission: Impossible \u2014 The Final Reckoning\u201d over the Memorial Day holiday.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis is a relatively quiet weekend,\u201d says senior Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. \u201cBut it\u2019s looking like it\u2019s going to be an epic month of May for movie theaters.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marvel\u2019s \u201cThunderbolts*\u201d remained No. 1 at the box office, collecting $33.1 million in its second weekend of release.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":93200,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3935],"tags":[77,3943,16805,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-93199","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-movies","10":"tag-thunderbolts","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114490245277425871","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/93200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}