Marvel’s highly anticipated film, "Thunderbolts", is poised to top the weekend box office, having generated an impressive $31.5 million across Friday and preview screenings from 4,330 theaters. This ensemble action piece follows a group of Marvel's least superpowered personalities, and it is projected to achieve a domestic opening between $70 million and $75 million. The film's earnings are bolstered by showings in Imax and other premium large-format auditoriums, highlighting its appeal among fans.
The opening figures for "Thunderbolts" suggest a solid start for what could evolve into a new franchise, despite most of its heroes having previously appeared in other entries within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, these numbers also reflect Marvel Studios' current diminished event status at the box office. If the projections hold true, "Thunderbolts" will mark one of the lower openings in the MCU, likely falling short of the $80 million opening of "Black Widow", which introduced Florence Pugh and David Harbour, and the $94 million debut of "Guardians of the Galaxy".
In terms of recent comparisons, "Thunderbolts" is trailing behind Disney's previous Marvel feature, "Captain America: Brave New World", which opened to $40.9 million in February, ultimately earning $88 million over the three-day weekend. Although "Brave New World" had greater brand recognition due to its connection to the Captain America franchise, it faced negative reviews and lukewarm reception, finishing its run with a mere 2.2x multiplier and a total of $200 million in North America.
The hope for Marvel is that while "Thunderbolts" may open smaller than expected, it will demonstrate stronger holding power. Early reviews have been some of the most favorable the franchise has received in recent times, with audiences responding positively as well. The moviegoer pollster Cinema Score awarded it an impressive "A-" grade, in stark contrast to the low "B-" received by "Brave New World". Given its production costs of $180 million and an additional $100 million for marketing and distribution, "Thunderbolts" will need to resonate globally and show significant staying power to achieve profitability.
Alongside Florence Pugh and David Harbour, "Thunderbolts" features a star-studded cast, including Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, with Jake Schreier at the helm as director.
In second place, "Sinners" continues to perform well, earning an additional $9.5 million on Friday, marking a modest 27% decline from the previous week. Despite losing Imax and premium format screenings to "Thunderbolts", some estimates suggest "Sinners" may only drop 25% in its third weekend. This Ryan Coogler-directed vampire thriller has shown remarkable staying power, tripling its initial $48 million opening weekend, and is on track to surpass "Captain America: Brave New World" as the second-highest grossing North American release of 2025.
Warner Bros. also secured third place with its film "A Minecraft Movie", which has been a consistent crowd-pleaser in its fifth weekend of release. The adaptation of Mojang’s beloved video game earned another $3.1 million on Friday, bringing its total domestic gross to $387.6 million. The film is expected to surpass $400 million soon, making its mark among the top 50 domestic grossers of all time.
Fourth place went to "The Accountant 2", which earned $2.6 million on Friday, projecting a $9.8 million second weekend, down 60% from its opening weekend. This performance trails the original 2016 film by about 11%, a disappointing outcome considering its higher production budget of $80 million. Amazon Studios likely prioritizes its streaming service's subscriber growth over theatrical performance.
Finally, rounding out the top five, "Until Dawn" earned $1.1 million on Friday, with projections of $3.6 million for its second weekend, indicating a 55% drop from its debut. Newcomers this weekend include "The Surfer", featuring Nicolas Cage, which debuted in 884 venues and grossed $320,000 on Friday, struggling to break into the top 10.
