Box Office Recap: March 31-April 2, 2023

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves conquers the weekend box office with a $38 million debut.

‘Twas a mighty victory for the Dungeons & Dragons gang over the weekend, as the new fantasy action comedy met its pre-release expectations of $30-40 million with nearly $40 million domestically and over $70 million worldwide. Meanwhile, Angel Studios released their low-budget faith-based adaptation of the story of Abraham and Isaac, His Only Son and managed to score a $5 million opening and the acclaimed indie drama A Thousand and One received a limited release of under 1,000 theaters and grossed nearly $2 million.

In first place, Paramount’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves debuted with $38.5 million domestically, opening in 3,855 theaters and earning an average of $9,987 per location. Additionally, the film, which is based on the popular tabletop role-playing game, brought in $33.0 million internationally, which puts it total worldwide opening at $71.5 million. While it still has a ways to go before it catches up to its reported production budget of $150 million, the film did receive praise from critics and an “A-” CinemaScore from viewers. That should lend some sturdy legs to its extended run, even with The Super Mario Bros. Movie set for release later this week on Wednesday.

Finishing in the runner-up spot, Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4 finished with a sophomore frame of $28.2 million domestically, pushing its total domestic run to $122.9 million. This marks a -61.8% drop from its debut frame last weekend, earning a per-theater average of $7,317 at 3,855 locations. The third sequel from the popular action franchise has also performed well overseas, nearly matching its domestic total with $122.0 million for a worldwide cume that currently stands at $244.9 million against a reported production budget of $100 million.

While that is high for a second weekend drop, the high audience score could suggest that means most everyone that wanted to see the film has already gone out to see it on opening weekend. It should also be noted that both the film’s R-rating and its long runtime does have an impact on how much it is able to bring in, with the rating affecting who can see the movie and the runtime affecting how many screenings it’s able to play. Still, the film could possibly triple its production budget by just its third weekend and could also surpass the franchise’s top worldwide earner, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum ($327.8 million), within the next week or two, so the only tears being shed at Lionsgate are tears of joy.

Landing in third place, Angel Studios’s His Only Son opened with $5.5 million domestically. The faith-based film, which is based on the biblical Old Testament account from the book of Genesis, opened in 1,920 theaters and made a per-theater average of $2,864. While certainly not large numbers, it should be noted that the film’s reported production budget was only $250,000, so, clearly, Avatar-like results were hardly needed here. Given its near-perfect “A” CinemaScore from opening weekend moviegoers, the film should continue to perform solidly before it’s eventually made available on Angel Studios’s streaming platform.

Remaining in fourth place, Paramount’s Scream VI grossed $5.3 million domestically over its fourth weekend in release for a domestic cume that is just inches away from the $100 million mark at $98.2 million. Overseas, the sixth entry of the iconic slasher horror franchise brought in $49.4 million, which brings its total worldwide gross to $147.6 million against a reported production budget of $35 million.

Rounding out the top five, United Artists’s Creed III earned $5.0 million domestically over its fifth weekend in release, pushing its total domestic performance to $148.6 million. Internationally, the film has brought in an additional $110.0 million to help push its total worldwide run to $258.6 million against a reported production budget of $75 million.

Elsewhere within the top ten, in seventh place, Focus Features’s A Thousand and One opened in 926 locations and took in $1.8 million domestically, which marks an average of $1,943 per location. In addition to its high critical acclaim, the indie drama received a solid “B+” CinemaScore from opening weekend viewers, which could lend to some positive word-of-mouth.

Opening this weekend, Amazon Studios will open their biographical sports drama Air starring Academy Award winners Matt Damon, Viola Davis and Ben Affleck, who also directs the picture; and Universal Pictures debuts their long-awaited, highly anticipated animated adventure The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is based on the iconic Nintendo video game and features the voice talents of Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Keegan-Michael Key and Jack Black.

* Total worldwide gross listed in parenthesis.

1) Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – $38.5 million, Week 1 ($71.5 million)
2) John Wick: Chapter 4 – $28.2 million, Week 2 ($244.9 million)
3) His Only Son – $5.5 million, Week 1 ($5.5 million)
4) Scream VI – $5.3 million, Week 4 ($147.6 million)
5) Creed III – $5.0 million, Week 5 ($258.6 million)
6) Shazam! Fury of the Gods – $4.6 million, Week 3 ($119.5 million)
7) A Thousand and One – $1.8 million, Week 1 ($1.8 million)
8) 65 – $1.6 million, Week 4 ($54.8 million)
9) Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – $1.2 million, Week 7 ($471.8 million)
10) Jesus Revolution – $1.0 million, Week 6 ($50.9 million)

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