Warner Bros. | Angel Studios

“A Minecraft Movie” was assured to reign supreme at the domestic box office in its second weekend, but theaters are also getting buttressed with several more new releases, too. Of those, Angel Studios’ animated biblical film “The King of Kings” is leading the pack, heading for second place ahead of titles from major studios like “The Amateur” and “Drop.”

At the top of the charts, Warner Bros. and Legendary’s “A Minecraft Movie” keeps stacking blocks, notching another $20.5 million on Friday. The comedy adaptation of Mojang’s video game bestseller is expected to earn north of $80 million in its second frame, which would rank as the third-biggest weekend gross of the year behind its own smash $162 million opening and not far off from the $88 million debut of Disney’s “Captain America: Brave New World.” Talk about a block-buster.

Now projecting a drop around 50%, “Minecraft” likely won’t match the superlative holds put up by titles like fellow video game adaptation “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (a 36% second-weekend fall) or Warner’s other IP breakout “Barbie” (a 42% slide). But it’s impressive staying power nonetheless, demonstrating that “Minecraft” has crossed over beyond the property’s built-in fanbase that rushed to buy tickets on opening weekend. Plus, it only took seven days for “A Minecraft Movie” to surpass a $200 million domestic gross and solidify its status as the year’s top-grossing North American release. Now it’s just a matter of how high it can build.

Even with a PG-rated juggernaut topping the market, animated film “The King of Kings” is proving a competitive option for family audiences, landing in second place on domestic charts. The Korea-produced feature, a loose adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “The Life of Our Lord,” earned about $6.8 million across Friday and preview screenings from more than 3,200 locations. Angel is also offering a “Kids Go Free” initiative to boost attendance among families, allowing children no-cost admittance with the purchase of one adult ticket. Competitors now project the film is headed to an opening around $18 million.

If it overperforms a bit, it could even land the biggest opening ever for independent distributor Angel Studios, which last made a big splash with the R-rated human trafficking thriller “Sound of Freedom” in July 2023. That film debuted to $19 million before legging out a staggering $184 million domestic finish, outgrossing major Hollywood summer blockbusters like “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” and “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning.” In the two years since, Angel has been a more quiet, though still a regular presence in theaters, releasing modest dramas, often with a faith-based message. Their biggest hit after “Freedom” was last December’s apocalypse thriller “Homestead,” which earned $20 million domestic and featured an abrupt ending that teased a television sequel series for Angel’s streaming service.

With “King of Kings” outpacing traditional studio releases, the animated feature looks to become Angel’s second-biggest hit ever in just a few days, with an eye on next weekend’s Easter holiday to boost business. The film, which features the voice of Oscar Isaac as Jesus Christ and boasts other names like Pierce Brosnan, Mark Hamill, Forest Whitaker, Ben Kingsley, Kenneth Branagh and Uma Thurman, has so-so reviews. But Angel always resonates with its target audience; moviegoer survey firm Cinema Score’s pristine “A+” grade would indicate that they’ve done that again.

Of the other new openings, “The Amateur” is drawing the biggest crowd, with the Rami Malek revenge thriller earning $6 million across Friday and preview screenings from 3,400 locations, now hoping for a three-day north of $15 million. The Disney release, under its 20th Century Studios banner, is sharing Imax and other premium large-format auditoriums with “Minecraft” and A24’s “Warfare” this weekend. Directed by James Hawes, the PG-13 vigilante film cost $60 million to produce and will have to stick around theaters to fully justify that price point. Reviews have been mixed, but audiences are more positive (a “B+” grade from Cinema Score).

Fourth and fifth are a tighter race, though the real-time Iraq thriller “Warfare” has the edge for now, earning about $3.5 million across Friday and preview screenings from 2,670 theaters, eyeing an $8 million debut. The R-rated military ensemble piece sees filmmaker Alex Garland reteam with A24 after both launched a breakout hit with “Civil War” a year ago. Co-directed by veteran Ray Mendoza, “Warfare” was a cheaper production than most studio films, though on the pricier side by A24 standards. The indie banner will hope to turn stellar reviews and great audience sentiment (an “A-” grade from Cinema Score) into a sustained theatrical run.

Universal’s modern suspense thriller “Drop” isn’t too far behind, earning $3.3 million across Friday and preview screenings from 3,085 locations, heading to a $7.7 million debut. The PG-13 Blumhouse production, which teams “White Lotus” breakout Meghann Fahy and “It Ends With Us” star Brandon Sklenar on a first date gone terribly wrong, cost $11 million to produce and will aim to buoy its box office with great reviews. Cinema Score turned in a more measured “B” grade among moviegoers for the Christopher Landon-directed feature.

Just outside the top five, Fathom Events is bowing its third and final package of episodes for “The Chosen: Last Supper” this weekend. This bunch earned $2.5 million across Friday and previews. The specialty banner has broken up Season 5 of 5&2 Studios’ Biblical adaptation into three theatrical releases, with finale Episodes 7-8 coming this frame. The first two bundles, which debuted over the two weeks prior, have collectively earned more than $28 million so far.