Faith-Based Animated Film “David” Surges to No. 2 at Box Office

The faith-based animated film David ranked second at the North American box office during its opening weekend last month on the 19th, trailing only the blockbuster Avatar: Fire and Ash. The strong debut drew attention to the commercial potential of religious films.

Distributed by Angel Studios, David earned $22 million in its opening weekend. While it did not match Disney’s Avatar, which brought in $88 million, it surpassed The Housemaid, which earned $19 million, and Paramount Pictures’ The SpongeBob Movie, which earned $16 million. Following the success of Sound of Freedom in 2023, Angel Studios recorded its highest opening-weekend box office result to date. A comparison of screen count and revenue showed that David performed strongly relative to other wide releases.

David is an animated reinterpretation of the biblical story of David from the Old Testament. The film includes the battle with Goliath and connects to the five-part series Young David, which Angel Studios distributed in 2023. The voice of David is performed by Christian singer-songwriter Phil Wickham, while David’s mother Nitzevet is voiced by Israeli singer Miri Mesika. The film was co-directed by Brent Dawes and Phil Cunningham.

The film also attracted attention due to promotion by conservative influencers on social media. Conservative activist and former collegiate swimmer Riley Gaines, podcast host Benny Johnson, and actor Rob Schneider promoted the film and posted claims on X alleging that Disney and Paramount Pictures pressured theaters to limit screenings of David. One of the posts was reshared by Angel Studios, though no specific evidence supporting the claims was presented.

According to Box Office Mojo, David played on more than 3,100 screens during its opening weekend. This was more than The Housemaid, but slightly fewer than Avatar and The SpongeBob Movie.

Gaines described David as “a great alternative to Netflix that pushes transgender propaganda on kids” and included the hashtag #DavidPartner in her post. The hashtag indicates that she may have collaborated with the studio or received compensation for promoting the film.

Conservative influencers, including critic Jack Posobiec of Turning Point USA, emphasized that David earned more than star-driven films such as The Housemaid, which starred Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney. The production budget for David reportedly exceeded $60 million, and Angel Studios said that a significant portion of the funding came from crowdfunding. As with Sound of Freedom, the studio is operating a “Pay It Forward” program that allows audiences to purchase tickets for others. The initiative aims to secure tickets for 1 million children through the studio’s website.

Founded in 2021, Angel Studios achieved major success with Sound of Freedom, which ranked 10th at the North American box office in 2023 and earned more than $250 million worldwide. The film, which focused on child trafficking, became a center of political debate and received support from conservative politicians and influencers, including President Donald Trump. Trump hosted a screening and shared the trailer on Truth Social.

During its theatrical run, Sound of Freedom also drew attention due to conspiracy claims on social media that Netflix and Amazon Prime Video had banned the film. Adam Aron, chief executive of AMC Theatres, rejected allegations that theaters interfered with screenings, stating that no theater chain supported the film more actively than AMC.