The musical David, created by South African studio Sunrise Animation, has earned a staggering $76-million at the box office. The movie, distributed by Angel Studios, has drawn attention for strong animation quality and powerful songs. These includes the anthem Follow the Light, performed by Grammy nominee Phil Wickham and Brandon Engman.
The retelling of the biblical story of David and Goliath is supported by an accompanying album featuring music by Joseph Trapanese (The Greatest Showman), who also composed the film’s score.
David broke the record for the highest-grossing opening weekend for a faith-based animated film, earning $22-million. Angel Studios’ The King of Kings, now places second in this ranking, having earned $19-million. The Oscar-winning The Prince of Egypt, which opened with $14.5-million in 1998, has moved to third.
Phil Cunningham and Brent Dawes directed David. 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.
The movie delivered the strongest opening for a South African film in North America since District 9 in 2009, despite releasing on 19 December 2025 alongside Avatar: Fire and Ash, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants, and The Housemaid.
Four weeks later, David remains in the US top 10. 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, before completing its run.
“After 30 years of dreaming, planning, working, failing and trying again, it is incredible to see the film out there,” says Cunningham. “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 Dawes. “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.”
David remains on screen in South Africa and North America, with plans to release the film in 44 international markets by 1 January 2027.