Sterling K. Brown Revenge Film Gets a Worrying Box Office Outlook
The upcoming revenge thriller Is God Is, starring Sterling K. Brown and Vivica A. Fox, could face some struggles at the box office given some early predictions. However, there are still a few weeks before the film comes out on May 15, 2026 in the US, and the movie’s trailer has received a lot of attention that shouldn’t be ignored. The Amazon MGM Studios production is based off a 2018 play of the same name written by Aleshea Harris, who is also the writer and director for this cinematic adaptation. It follows two twin sisters, Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson), who suffer burn scars and are tasked by their mother Ruby the God (Vivica A. Fox) to get revenge on their father (Sterling K. Brown) who is the culprit for the fire.
Is God Is faces a lot of competition at the box office
Is God Is is expected to bring in $4.5 million, within the range of $4 million to $7 million, in its domestic opening weekend from May 15 to May 17, 2025. Through its entire theatrical run in the US and Canada, it is projected to rake in $18 million, somewhere between a fairly wide range from $10 million to $43 million.
These box office predictions come from an April 24 report by analytics site BoxOfficeTheory. These ranges are similar to those projected by BoxOffice Pro too, which sees the film’s domestic opener to be $4 million to $8 million.
The trouble for Is God Is, though, is that it’s releasing during a busy and competitive theatrical schedule in May. The movie is sandwiched between multiple spring/summer blockbusters, particularly The Devil Wears Prada 2 coming out on May 1, Mortal Kombat II releasing on May 8, and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu dropping on May 22. More than that, the film has a pair of competitors releasing on the same day that it does, both of which have a slightly higher box office projection too: Jake Gyllenhaal and Henry Cavill’s action flick In the Grey ($6 million – $11 million) and the supernatural horror film Obsession ($5 million – $7 million). With such a crowded cinematic calendar, Is God Is will have a more difficult time standing out and finding space in theaters.
On a better note, the movie features a cast that has an encouraging amount of star power behind it. Vivica A. Fox and Sterling K. Brown need no introductions, with Fox most recently being in 2025’s The Demon Detective and Like Father Like Son, and Brown starring in two Hulu series Paradise and Washington Black. Kara Young has been in a handful of films, though she is better known for her incredible work on the stage, having won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for “Purlie Victorious” in 2024 and “Purpose” in 2025. Rounding out the cast are Mallori Johnson, Janelle Monáe, Erika Alexander, Mykelti Williamson, and Josiah Cross.
The official trailer for Is God Is that released in late February shows that the Orion Pictures production could be a sleeper hit. It has received 13.5 million views on YouTube so far, which is more than what several trailers for The Mandalorian and Grogu received. Comments for the trailer are positive too, with many being encouraged by its play-to-movie pipeline and the flim being marketed as a grindhouse revenge flick. Many are surprised by the cast being stacked with numerous black actors and actresses too. And it should be noted that traditional industry tracking at the box office can underestimate films like this; for instance, Michael B. Jordan’s Sinners and the recent Michael biopic that has already smashed records for its opening weekend.
Source: Comingsoon.net