As we rounded out May and now head into June, a pair of very different new movies hit theaters to help keep the good times rolling at the summer box office. The weekend’s big new release was Karate Kid: Legends from Sony Pictures, which opened to a so-so $21 million. Meanwhile, for horror fans, the big newcomer was Bring Her Back, the latest from A24 and directors Danny and Michael Philippou, aka the duo behind Talk to Me. While their sophomore outing wasn’t quite as big, it represents a decent start, all things considered.
See also: It Might Be A While Before We See A TALK TO ME Sequel
Bring Her Back opened to $7 million over the weekend, good enough to land at number five on the charts. The film carries a $15 million price tag, with A24 selling off the foreign rights to Sony. To that end, it made just $1 million overseas, but the rollout has only just begun. In any event, A24’s risk was highly mitigated and Sony wanted to be in business with the guys who turned Talk to Me into a surprise $92 million global hit – one of A24’s biggest movies ever. Nobody's risk is great enough that anyone is going to lose out here, in all liklihood. Home video alone should make up any difference that needs making up.
The film centers on a brother and sister who uncover terrifying secrets at the secluded home of their new foster mother. Oscar-winner Sally Hawkins (The Shape of Water) leads the cast. Working in the movie’s favor will be strong reviews, as Bring Her Back has won over critics thus far. It’s one of those “this is so fucked up, have you seen it?” movies so even if it doesn’t break out in theaters, it will certainly find an audience on VOD streaming.
It’s much better positioned than A24’s Death of a Unicorn, which opened to just $5.7 million against a similar budget earlier this year, en route to a $16 million global finish. That movie also opened on more screens. In a best-case scenario, it could leg out like Midosmmar, which opened to $6.5 million before finishing its run with $6.7 million globally. Either way, it’s certainly not going to be a disaster for anyone involved, particularly in light of the positive buzz. It just might not be another surprise, breakout hit.
One of the biggest reasons the movie might have struggled to do more business is because Final Destination Bloodlines and Sinners are both still doing string numbers, offering the horror crowd plenty of options. Bloodlines made another $10.8 million in its third weekend, having already become the biggest Final Destination movie ever. Sinners, meanwhile, added another $5.2 million on its seventh weekend, crossing the $350 million mark globally. It will soon be one of the ten biggest R-rated movies at the domestic box office in history.
The summer movie season has picked up some real steam Still, it was Disney’s Lilo & Stitch topping the charts with another $63 million, with Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning trailing in the number two spot with $27.3 million. Both movies enjoyed a healthy second frame after helping to set a new Memorial Day weekend record.
Looking ahead, we’ve got the John Wick spin-off Ballerina hitting theaters this upcoming weekend, while NEON’s Stephen King adaptation The Life of Chuck also arrives in limited release. The exorcism horror flick The Ritual is also heading to a theater near you, as is IFC's shark thriller Dangerous Animals. The next big studio horror movie doesn’t arrive until June 20 when 28 Years Later releases, which could help Bring Her Back leg out for a couple of weeks.
You can see the full list of the top ten movies at the box office for the weekend of May 30, 2025, below. For more, check out our list of new horror movies to keep on your radar this summer.
- Lilo & Stitch – $63 million (second weekend)
- Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning – $27.3 million (second weekend)
- Karate Kid: Legends – $21 million (first weekend)
- Final Destination Bloodlines – $10.8 million (third weekend)
- Bring Her Back – $7 million (first weekend)
- Sinners – $5.2 million (seventh weekend)
- Thunderbolts* – $4.8 million (fifth weekend)
- Friendship – $2.5 million (fourth weekend)
- The Last Rodeo – $2.1 million (second weekend)
- j-hope Tour ‘Hope on the Stage' in Japan: Live Viewing – $939,173 (first weekend)
