Last Updated on May 15, 2025 by Ryan Scott
There was a bit of deja vu at the box office over the weekend, with Marvel's Thunderbolts* on top of the domestic charts with an estimated $33.1 million. Meanwhile, Ryan Coogler's Sinners finished at number two with another $21.1 million, continuing its massive run. It Would be easy enough to overlook the newcomer in the number five spot, but it's a lowkey big hit. Relatively speaking.
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Director Eli Craig’s YA slasher Clown in a Cornfield arrived with $3.6 million following its premiere at SXSW in March. While that’s not a massive number for a big studio movie, it represents an opening weekend record for an IFC release (RLJE Films, in this case, but they funnel to the same parent company). We’re talking about the company behind the likes of The Babadook, Speak No Evil and Late Night with the Devil, among others, making it very good company to be in. Per Deadline, Scott Shooman, the Head of IFC Entertainment Group, had this to say about it:
“To say we are thrilled with the tremendous response to Eli Craig’s witty and playful adaptation of Adam Cesare’s chart-topping novel would be an understatement. This success is the result of great storytelling, tireless work from the entire team at IFC Entertainment Group, and is a huge win for our RLJE division. Thanks to the guidance of Mark Ward, RLJE’s Chief Acquisition Officer, Clown in a Cornfield has become its largest theatrical grosser ever as well as the biggest box office opening weekend for our company. This speaks volumes to how the IFC Entertainment Group synergistically operates and how our brands are growing – aiming to deliver unique genre leaning titles with mass appeal.”
Needless to say, IFC is very happy here. The especially good news here is that IFC tends to produce low-cost movies that are meant to profit on VOD and streaming. The even better news is that Clown in a Cornfield has a 31 day theatrical window before it will arrive on VOD, meaning it can continue to rake in the dough for several weeks. It’s all but assured to overtake Late Night with the Devil ($10 million domestic).
Clown in a Cornfield follows a young girl and her father who have just moved to the quiet town of Kettle Springs hoping for a fresh start. Instead, what they find is an evil clown named Frendo who lets the blood spill. This continues the trend of indie clown horror killing it at the box office in the aftermath of Terrifier 2 and Terrifier 3 in recent years. Pennywise, you’ve got some company. For IFC and Craig, the even better news is that there is not one but two sequel novels. So we could be looking at a new franchise here.
Elsewhere, Sinners is still absolutely crushing it in its fourth weekend. It’s now on pace to become one of the highest-grossing original horror movies ever. Yes, really. Thus far, it has made $214.4 million domestically, becoming the first original movie to pass the $200 million milestone since 2017. Globally, the movie is coming up on $300 million. Director Ryan Coogler is good as gold, it seems.
Meanwhile, Sony’s video game adaptation Until Dawn added another $2 million and has become a success, somewhat quietly. It’s coming up on $45 million worldwide against a $15 million budget. Director David F. Sandberg’s latest may not be a blockbuster, but it’s going to do just fine for itself. Success is success, after all.
Looking ahead, we’ve got a bonafide blockbuster coming our way in the form of Final Destination Bloodlines, which revives the franchise after a 14-year absence. It’s going to be our new number one movie come next Monday. The question is, just how big is that opening going to be? Stay tuned…
You can see the full list of the top ten movies at the box office for the weekend of May 9, 2025, below. For more, check out our interview with the cast and crew from Clown in a Cornfield.
- Thunderbolts* – $33.1 million (second weekend)
- Sinners– $21.1 million (fourth weekend)
- A Minecraft Movie – $7.9 million (sixth weekend)
- The Accountant 2 – $6 million (third weekend)
- Clown in a Cornfield – $3.6 million (first weekend)
- Shadow Force – $2.01 million (first weekend)
- Fight or Flight – $2 million (first weekend)
- Until Dawn – $2 million (third weekend)
- The Amateur – $1.1 million (fifth weekend)
- The King of Kings – $680,565 (fifth weekend)
