Drummer Boy has beaten expectations at the box office, with trade estimates putting its opening weekend at about 8 million dollars — good enough for third place, and roughly 73 per cent above pre-release tracking.
The film took 3.53 million dollars on Friday, 6 November, from 2,850 theatres. Weekend projections range from 7.9 million dollars to 8.8 million dollars. The figure is still a projection — studio estimates arrive on Sunday and final totals on Monday — but the direction is clear: this is the surprise of the weekend.
Audiences gave the film an A CinemaScore — Angel Studios’ tenth A. Only Sound of Hope, The King of Kings and Sound of Freedom have scored higher, with A+ grades. The Numbers called it the weekend’s surprise, with the top ten up 32 per cent on the same weekend in 2025.
It is Angel Studios’ first live-action theatrical musical, and the budget was reportedly 10 million dollars — so a high-single-digit opening nearly breaks even in week one. That is a rare result for a small-budget film opening in thousands of theatres.
The film is directed by Ben and Joel David Smallbone of For King & Country, the four-time Grammy winners, and Joel stars as Jeremiah Clem. It is a Revolutionary War Christmas musical about two brothers on opposite sides of the war, and about forgiveness — a message the film sums up as “forgiveness is revolutionary”.
The result follows a strong Friday, when the film earned its A CinemaScore, and it caps a big week for new releases alongside Being Heumann arriving in theatres on 6 November. Drummer Boy is in theatres now.
Bhudev Bhagaliya is an experienced and senior journalist who has carved a distinct niche for himself in the world of Hindi journalism through his profound understanding and precise writing style. With over two decades of experience in the field of journalism, he has held key responsibilities at Dainik Hindustan for 12 years and at Amar Ujala for one year. Currently, he serves as the Content Editor for the Jagrook Youth News newspaper and portal, where he plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and credibility of the news content. Bhudev Bhagaliya consistently writes about issues that help raise awareness within society and among the younger generation.