A faith-based animated film with deep Southern African roots has delivered one of the biggest box office surprises of the year in the United States. David, a South African–produced animated musical, grossed $22 million (R367 million) at the US box office in its opening weekend, securing second place overall and outperforming major studio releases.
The film edged past The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants to claim the runner-up spot for the weekend, trailing only James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, which debuted on the same day. Industry observers described the performance as an upset of “David vs. Goliath” proportions, given the scale of competition.
Produced by Angel Studios and directed by Zimbabwe-born South Africans Phil Cunningham and Brent Dawes, David was animated at Cape Town–based Sunrise Animation Studios. The Biblical epic marks a significant milestone not only for faith-based cinema but also for South African animation on the global stage.
According to Angel Studios, the opening weekend marked the largest three-day debut in the company’s history, surpassing even Sound of Freedom, which went on to gross more than $250 million worldwide. The studio also confirmed that David now holds the record for the highest-grossing opening weekend ever for a faith-based animated film in the US, beating earlier benchmarks set by The King of Kings and the Oscar-winning The Prince of Egypt.
The film’s success places it among a small group of South African productions to break through in North America at this level. It is the strongest opening for a South African film in the region since Neil Blomkamp’s District 9 in 2009. Like District 9, David is expected to earn significantly more than its production budget. Within its first four weeks in theatres, the film had already grossed more than $75 million (R1.23 billion) in North America alone.
This performance has pushed David to number 35 on Box Office Mojo’s list of the highest-grossing films of 2025 in American cinemas so far, and into the top 10 animated films of the year—before it has even completed its theatrical run.
The movie features Grammy-nominated artist Phil Wickham as the voice of adult David, with a musical score composed by Joseph Trapanese, best known for his work on The Greatest Showman. Beyond North America and South Africa, Angel Studios plans to roll out the film across 44 international markets by 1 January 2027, significantly expanding its global reach.
Audience response has mirrored the film’s commercial success. David currently holds a 77% average critics’ score and a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. The New York Times praised the animation’s details as “surprisingly magnificent,” while Variety described the film as “a spectacular showcase for the technical capabilities of Sunrise Productions.”
The project was a decade in the making. Over 10 years, Cunningham and Dawes led a team of more than 400 local and international artists and crew members, working both on-site at Sunrise’s studio in Noordhoek and remotely across 32 countries.
Reflecting on the journey, Cunningham said the team set out to create something enduring and uplifting. He described the film as an “Arc de Triomphe” and a beacon of inspiration for their generation, adding that it has been deeply rewarding to hear how audiences have been moved by the story.
“It’s wonderful to hear so many stories of how the film is genuinely encouraging and inspiring people,” Cunningham said. “It is hard to find the words to thank the incredible team who sacrificed so much to make this happen.”
Dawes echoed those sentiments, calling the experience of working on David an extraordinary privilege. He highlighted the collaboration across cultures and borders as one of the most meaningful aspects of the production.
“It was the most wonderful thing to witness all these people from such different backgrounds catching the vision and working tirelessly together to bring it to life,” Dawes said. “David is a movie whose time had come; we all felt it. It was meant to be, and I feel so privileged to have been a part of it.”