Life imitated art on 19 December 2025, when the South African animation film David was released across North American cinemas – on the same day as Avatar: Fire and Ash, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants, and The Housemaid.
For context, the first two Avatar films rank first and third on the all-time global box office chart; Spongebob has been called “the number one most memed show of all time”*; and The Housemaid is an adaptation of Freida McFadden’s bestselling thriller, starring Sydney Sweeney, IMDb’s fifth most popular star of 2025.
In David, when the giant Goliath rises to terrorise a nation, a young shepherd steps forward, armed with only a sling, a few stones, and unshakable faith.
In an upset of David vs. Goliath proportions, the biblical animation outperformed both SpongeBob and The Housemaid in North America, landing in second place behind only Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Released on over 3,000 screens, David grossed $22 million at the weekend domestic box office. This is the biggest three-day opening in Angel Studios’ history, surpassing even Sound of Freedom, which went on to gross over $250 million globally.
This is the highest-grossing opening weekend ever in the US for a faith-based animated film – besting both Angel’s own The King of Kings and the Oscar-winning The Prince of Egypt.
This was also the best opening for a South African film in North America since District 9 in 2009.
Four weeks later, David remains in the US top 10, having grossed over $75m in America alone. This puts the film at number 35 on Box Office Mojo’s roundup of the highest-grossing films of 2025 in American cinemas, and inside the top 10 for animation films, even before it completes its run.
Phil Cunningham and Brent Dawes directed the musical epic. Both were born in Zimbabwe and are now based in Cape Town. They led over 400 local and international artists and crew, both in-house at Sunrise’s studio in Noordhoek and working remotely across 32 countries.
“After 30 years of dreaming, planning, working, failing and trying again, it is incredible to see the film out there,” says Phil. “We set out to make an Arc De Triomphe, a beacon of inspiration to our generation, so it’s wonderful to hear so many stories of how the film is genuinely encouraging and inspiring people. It is hard to find the words to thank the incredible team who sacrificed so much to make this happen.”
“It was such an incredible privilege to work for over 10 years with so many people in so many countries,” says Brent. “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. Phil and I had front-row seats to witness what happens when inspiration, passion and talent collide. 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.”
Sunrise’s work was repeatedly singled out for praise by some of the world’s top media. Rotten Tomatoes’ critic consensus praised the film’s “gorgeously animated backgrounds”; The New York Times called the details “surprisingly magnificent”; and Variety hailed David as “a spectacular showcase for the technical capabilities of South African animation house Sunrise Productions.”
Audience feedback has been just as glowing: David received an A CinemaScore and a 98% Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score.
Grammy nominee Phil Wickham leads the cast as the adult David, singing a score composed by Joseph Trapanese (The Greatest Showman).
David remains on screen in both North America and South Africa, with plans to release the film in 44 international markets by 1 January 2027.
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Watch the trailer below and read more movie news here.
