Box Office Showdown: Sydney Sweeney’s The Housemaid vs. God
Box office upset: Angel Studios’ animated biblical musical David narrowly beat Sydney Sweeney’s erotic thriller The Housemaid, debuting with an estimated $22 million—the studio’s biggest opening yet in a wildly unpredictable weekend.
Only in this business do you get an animated Bible musical edging out an erotic thriller. That was the weekend: Angel Studios dropped its family-friendly David and still managed to sneak past Sydney Sweeney in The Housemaid. Weird matchup, close finish.
The big picture
Angel Studios’ David opened to an estimated $22 million (per Deadline) and, yes, that’s the best debut the studio has ever had. The Housemaid came in right behind with a sturdy $19 million. Reviews tilted positive for both: the Sweeney thriller is sitting at a certified fresh 74% on Rotten Tomatoes, and David is riding a near-unanimous 98% audience score. Fun quirk: David’s critics score is also 74%. Different movies, same number.
- David (Angel Studios): $22M domestic opening (per Deadline), $26M worldwide so far; Rotten Tomatoes: critics 74%, audience 98%; CinemaScore: A
- The Housemaid (Lionsgate): $19M domestic opening; Rotten Tomatoes: critics 74% certified fresh
The Housemaid: a needed course correction for Sweeney
Sweeney needed a commercial win, and The Housemaid delivered. Nearly $20 million on opening weekend instantly makes it her best box office start by a mile compared to her last lead release, Christy, which crawled to $2 million total in theaters (Box Office Mojo) despite decent notices for her performance. The twist: The Housemaid is reviewing better, too. It’s at 74% on Rotten Tomatoes, while Christy sits at 66%.
After the one-two punch of underperformers like Eden and Americana — and with her last three releases combining for under $5 million — The Housemaid finally steadies her box office footing. For context, the film is adapted from Freida McFadden’s 2022 bestseller, directed by Paul Feig, and stars Sweeney opposite Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar. It’s also the rare erotic thriller to land a certified fresh badge out of the gate, which never hurts the marketing.
So what exactly is David?
David is a 2025 animated biblical musical adventure comedy-drama built from the Book of Samuel and continuing the Young David miniseries. The movie tracks the shepherd-poet-warrior who becomes King of Israel, starting in Bethlehem with David guarding his father Jesse’s flock, earning attention after fending off a lion. The prophet Samuel anoints him, he’s pulled into King Saul’s court to play the lyre and calm a ruler who’s fallen out of favor, and then the Philistines show up with Goliath. David refuses armor, trusts the sling, and drops the giant with one stone.
From there, the film follows the rise and fallout: soldiering, a tight bond with Jonathan, Saul turning against him, and a stretch defined by betrayal, exile, mercy, and restraint. It culminates with David surviving imprisonment, leading a faith-driven victory over the Amalekites, and being recognized as Israel’s rightful king.
The voice cast is a mix of worship and comedy-world names: Phil Wickham voices adult David, with Brandon Engman returning as young David. Adam Michael Gold is Saul, Mark Jacobson plays Jonathan, Asim Chaudhry is King Achish, Kamran Nikhad is Goliath, and Lauren Daigle voices Rebecca. Supporting roles include Mick Wingert and Will de Renzy-Martin.
Angel Studios clearly swung big behind the scenes. The team scouted across Israel — Jerusalem, the Valley of Elah, the Dead Sea — to ground the look and geography. Grammy winner Jonas Myrin wrote the songs, recording with the Budapest Film Orchestra to anchor the music in Hebrew storytelling traditions. It’s the kind of detail work that usually screams awards-hopeful, not mega-church turnout, but here it seems to be doing both.
Why this weekend was interesting
Two totally different audiences, both showed up. David’s faith base came out in force (that A CinemaScore and 98% audience score are loud), and The Housemaid proved there’s still an appetite for grown-up, pulpy thrillers when they’re well-cast and well-marketed. Call it devotion vs. temptation; either way, tickets moved.
The only real question now: does The Housemaid leg it out over the holidays, or does David keep converting newcomers week after week? We’ll see. For now, both are in theaters, and both have momentum.