Critics and audiences are not in agreement with the new animated religious film The King of Kings. Amid the two sides getting split, the film has earned a rare CinemaScore grade that’s more in line with the film’s near-perfect audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Officially, The King of Kings has been scored at A+ on CinemaScore, a movie surveyor that offers letter grades for new releases based on audience reactions. Getting an A+ score is rare with less than 130 movies in total ever reaching that high of a grade. So far, it’s only the second release of 2025 to be scored at A+, following the success of the dramedy Bob Trevino Likes It, which was released last month. Only six movies earned the grade for last year.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has proven to be polarizing. It is currently scored at 63% by critics, making it just a few points shy of losing its «fresh» status on the review aggregator website. It’s a different story with the audience score, which was given a Verified Hot badge on the Popcornmeter with its near-perfect score of 97%. Perhaps it’s not a movie for every Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic to enjoy, but it would seem that almost every filmgoer who caught The King of Kings has been left feeling satisfied.
The King of Kings Has Also Had Record-Breaking Box Office Success
The film also managed to set a new major record at the box office. It opened to around $19 million on 3,200 screens, marking the widest opening, along with the highest grossing debut ever, for a faith-based animated film. It dethroned The Prince of Egypt, which previously set the record 27 years ago. The filmmakers are hoping that the movie will continue to be enjoyed for years to come, perhaps serving as a new Easter tradition for some families.
“Just like the Prince of Egypt drew families to theaters, our Angel Guild has supported this film through presales and strong word-of-mouth since it entered the Angel ecosystem,” Brandon Purdie, Angel Studios’ Global Head of Theatrical Distribution & Brand Development, Brandon Purdie, said of the success of t he film. “Charles Dickens had a tradition of sharing this story with his family and we hope that The King of Kings will become a part of the Easter tradition for families around the globe.”
Directed by Seong-Ho Jang, The King of Kings features Moon Knight actor Oscar Isaac as the voice of Jesus Christ. The movie also includes the voice talents of Uma Thurman (Pulp Fiction), Kenneth Branagh (Oppenheimer), Pierce Brosnan (GoldenEye), Mark Hamill (Child’s Play), Forest Whitaker (The Twilight Zoner), and Ben Kingsley (Gandhi).
The King of Kings is playing in movie theaters.
