Three films centered on the life of Jesus Christ appeared in the domestic top ten over the weekend, led by the animated feature The King of Kings, which debuted with an estimated $19.3 million across 3,200 theaters. The release from Angel Studios ranks as the top opening ever for an animated faith-based film.
The film features Oscar Isaac as the voice of Jesus and was adapted from Charles Dickens’ The Life of Our Lord. Directed by Seong-ho Jang and co-written with Rob Edwards, The King of Kings follows a young boy who, through bedtime storytelling, imagines himself walking alongside Jesus and witnessing the key events of his life.
The voice cast includes Pierce Brosnan as Pontius Pilate, Kenneth Branagh as Charles Dickens, Uma Thurman as Catherine Dickens, Ben Kingsley as Caiaphas, Forest Whitaker as Peter, Mark Hamill as Herod, and Roman Griffith Davis as Walter Dickens. James Arnold Taylor provides additional voice roles, including depictions of multiple disciples.
Angel Studios reported that the film earned one of the highest audience scores measured by CinemaScore: an A+. Only five animated films outside the Disney-Pixar catalog have received that grade, and fewer than 130 films overall. The studio credited its Angel Guild community for support during development and promotion, noting that members are involved in voting on which projects move forward.
Brandon Purdie, head of theatrical distribution for Angel, emphasized that audience demand shaped the release. “The CinemaScore says it all. Families want quality films to see together in theaters,” Purdie said.
The film outperformed the opening weekend gross of DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt, which made $14.5 million in 1998. Adjusted for inflation, that earlier title’s opening would amount to $28.3 million today, though its total worldwide gross reached $218 million.
Angel promoted The King of Kings heavily through social media and faith-based influencers. In messaging, the studio highlighted its focus on family viewership and participation through its community investment platform. Angel has another animated project in development titled Young David, which will focus on the early life of the biblical figure.
In addition to The King of Kings, The Chosen: Season 5 also appeared in the top ten in two parts. Released in stages by Fathom Events, Part 3 opened this past weekend and brought in $6 million domestically, placing sixth. Part 2, which premiered the previous week, earned another $932,000 and ranked tenth.
All three parts of Season 5 have now grossed a combined $36.3 million across their runs. Part 1 brought in $19.3 million, while Part 2 debuted with $11.7 million. Fathom has planned an Easter weekend rollout where all three episodes will screen together for a single ticket price in approximately 500 theaters.
Fathom, which has distributed The Chosen theatrically since 2021, paced this season’s release to allow audiences to catch up week by week. The studio’s approach has involved timed releases and limited engagements structured as group-viewing events. The strategy follows previous theatrical outings of The Chosen that generated increasing turnout over multiple seasons.
The King of Kings was the top new release of the weekend, but the box office leader was A Minecraft Movie, which remained in first place for a second consecutive weekend with $80.6 million. The video game adaptation has now reached $280.9 million domestically.
Angel Studios previously released Sound of Freedom, which opened to $19.6 million and went on to earn $250 million globally. While expectations for The King of Kings are measured against a different genre and format, the studio now holds two of the top three faith-based opening weekends in recent years.
Fathom has positioned The Chosen’s rollout as a model for serialized content in theaters. While originally distributed by Angel Studios during its early seasons, the show transitioned to Fathom for theatrical releases beginning in Season 3. The company maintains a focus on limited-time screenings with a high engagement model.
The upcoming Easter screenings for The Chosen are expected to draw viewers who either missed earlier parts or want to watch the three-episode arc as a single experience. Promotional efforts have emphasized the availability of a bundled format and the opportunity for group viewing.
Angel’s use of wide-release animated storytelling, combined with a recognizable cast and targeted promotion, positioned The King of Kings as a standout performer for the weekend. The result places it among the most commercially successful releases by an independent studio this year.
