Thursday night at the box office brought in strong audience numbers as multiple new releases made their mark. Leading the way was the much-anticipated Minecraft Movie, which officially crossed the impressive $200 million global mark after collecting $7.1 million from Thursday previews alone.
The live-action film from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures achieved this milestone just a week into release, though it trails the pace of last year’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which reached the same benchmark in just five days, aided by an Easter weekend release. Minecraft is expected to retain the top spot at the box office this weekend with a projected $65 million in earnings, despite a predicted 60% drop in viewership.
Meanwhile, The Amateur, a spy thriller starring Rami Malek, and The King of Kings, an animated biblical epic by Angel Studios, both made a strong debut in Thursday previews, earning $2 million each. The Amateur, which started showing from 2 p.m., has garnered attention for its $14.6 million in presales, with opening weekend estimates around $12 million across 3,400 theaters. The film draws comparisons to other recent spy thrillers like The Beekeeper and The Creator, which opened with similar preview numbers.
The King of Kings, which began screenings from 11 a.m., also pulled in $2 million in preview revenue. Though anticipation is building, it remains to be seen if the film’s early interest will translate into a solid weekend performance.
The romantic drama Drop, led by Meghann Fahy and Brandon Sklenar, brought in $750,000 in previews from 2,600 screens beginning at 1:50 p.m., rising to $1.4 million when early-week screenings are included. Aimed at female viewers aged 17–34, the film was produced with an $11 million budget and is projected to earn between $6 million and $7 million this weekend.
Rounding out the Thursday box office was Warfare, an R-rated military drama by A24, which earned $1.6 million from early access screenings that started at 4 p.m. at 2,670 locations. Directed by Alex Garland and Ray Mendoza, the film has a weekend forecast between $7 million and $9 million and was produced with a $20 million budget, excluding promotional expenses.
As these films compete for attention in theaters, all eyes will be on whether early interest can hold up against weekend trends and ongoing box office giants like Minecraft.
