Box Office: ‘Sinners’ Eyes Astounding $30M-$40M, ‘Accountant 2’ Gains Edge Over ‘Revenge of the Sith’ – The Hollywood Reporter
2025-04-25T20:48:45Z
In a weekend for the history books, Ben Affleck’s ‘The Accountant 2’ is holding its own as 2005’s ‘Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith’ looks to score one of the top openings ever for a rerelease and ‘Sinners’ continues to break the bank.
Talk about a blast from the past.
Lucasfilm and Disney’s 20th Anniversary rerelease of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith soared to $3.4 million in Thursday previews ahead of its limited one-week engagement, enough to beat the $2.5 million earned in previews by Ben Affleck’s new action-thriller The Accountant 2 (the $2.5 million includes “tax day” screenings held April 15).
However, based on early Friday returns, the Accountant is making gains and should come in second with an opening in the $23 million to $25 million range, according to rival studio executives with access to grosses.
Not that Revenge of the Sith isn’t a force of nature. It could earn as much as $20 million to $23 million, making it one of the top openings ever for a rerelease (Disney is remaining more conservative and suggesting $20 million-plus). The crownholder belongs to 1977’s Star Wars, which grossed $35.9 million when rereleased in 1997, not adjusted for inflation, according to Comscore.
In terms of more recent rereleases in the franchise, Star Wars: The Phanom Menace earned $8.7 million on its opening weekend in May 2024, while the rerelease of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi grossed $5.1 million in late April 2023. There were no preview screenings for either of those titles. The big question is how frontloaded Sith is.
The re-release comes amid the 20th anniversary of the final of George Lucas’ prequel films. The prequels, while divisive at the time, have only grown more appreciated in recent years, with a generation of kids who grew up with them considering them their preferred Star Wars trilogy. Star Hayden Christensen received a rock star-esque greeting last week at Star Wars Celebration in Tokyo, while he and Sith star Ewan McGregor reprised their roles for the Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi in 2022, returning their versions of the characters to the zeitgeist.
And then there is Warner Bros.’ Sinners. Heading into the weekend, it was expected to compete with The Accountant 2 for the top spot with anywhere from $20 million to $25 million. If early modeling is correct, it could earn as much as $40 million in its second weekend, a scant drop of 17 percent.
Projections for all three movies could change by Saturday morning, of course.
Graced with virtually perfect audience scores and the best reviews of filmmaker Ryan oogler‘s already acclaimed career, Sinners has transformed into the rare title that has become a runaway water-cooler sensation.
On Thursday, Sinners bested the competition with a sizeable $6.1 million for an impressive seven-day domestic cume of $77.5 million. The period supernatural vampire pic starring Michael B. Jordan opened to a better-than-expected $48 million over Easter weekend to topple fellow Warners’ event pic A Minecraft Movie after the former ruled the roost for two consecutive weekends.
The first Accountant, released by Warners, opened to $24.7 million in 2016 on its way to grossing $155.5 million globally and becoming the most-rented digital film in 2017, according to Amazon MGM.
Reuniting Affleck and director Gavin O’Connor, Accountant 2 currently sports a fresh 76 percent critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to a rotten 53 percent for the first film. Consumers are far more entranced, judging the by the sequel’s current 93 percent audience Rotten Tomatoes score.
Affleck produced the sequel via his and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity, alongside Lynette Howell Taylor for 51 Entertainment and Mark Williams for Zero Gravity Management. The film made its world premiere at SXSW last month, winning the audience Award for the Headliners section.
Jon Bernthal, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Daniella Pineda, Allison Robertson and J.K. Simmons co-star in Accountant 2, which sees Affleck’s character compelled to step in and help solve the murder of an old acquaintance with the help of his estranged brother and a U.S. Treasury agent. Together, they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried.
Both Accountant 2 and Sinners are R-rated and will compete alongside Revenge of the Sith for male attention, although the latter has the advantage of also playing to families.
Warners’ blockbuster A Minecraft Movie is holding steady in fourth place as it approaches the $400 million mark domestically.
Screen Gem and Sony’s new horror offering Until Dawn took in $1 million in Thursday previews for a forgettable weekend opening in the $7 million range. It is likewise rated R.
April 25, 1:00 p.m.: Updated with revised weekend estimates
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