David Budget

What Is the Budget of David (2025)?

David (2025) had a production budget of $60.9 million, making it one of the most expensive animated biblical films ever produced. The film is an animated musical retelling of the life of David from the Book of Samuel, co-directed and co-written by Brent Dawes and Phil Cunningham for 2521 Entertainment, Slingshot Productions, and Sunrise Animation Studios. It was distributed in the United States by Angel Studios and in South Africa by Empire Entertainment.

The $60.9 million budget supported extensive animation production, an original score recorded in Budapest with the Budapest Film Orchestra, and original songs by Jonas Myrin. The score was composed by Joseph Trapanese, whose previous credits include Straight Outta Compton (2015) and the Oblivion soundtrack. Research for the film involved location scouting in Israel, including the Valley of Elah, Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, and the Judaean Desert.

Released on December 19, 2025, the film opened to a $22 million domestic debut, setting the record for the highest opening weekend for an animated biblical film. Its total worldwide gross reached $85.9 million, including $80.4 million domestically.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

• Animation Production: Sunrise Animation Studios led the production pipeline across multiple countries. The film's visual style, noted by critics for its 'gorgeously animated backgrounds,' required sophisticated environment modeling of ancient Israelite landscapes including the Valley of Elah, Jerusalem's architecture, and desert environments. Background art and character animation of this scope represents the single largest budget category, likely consuming $30 to $40 million.
• Score and Songs Recorded in Budapest: Composer Joseph Trapanese (Straight Outta Compton, Oblivion) worked with the Budapest Film Orchestra to record the orchestral score, a production choice that reflects a commitment to cinematic musical quality. Original songs by Jonas Myrin, a Swedish singer-songwriter with extensive faith music credentials, added a commercial music layer beyond the instrumental score. Budapest Film Orchestra recordings typically add $3 to $7 million to production costs.
• Voice Cast: Christian worship artist Phil Wickham was cast as the adult voice of David, bringing name recognition within the Christian music community that Angel Studios' audience would respond to. Lauren Daigle, the Grammy-winning Christian pop artist, also contributed a voice role and potentially musical material. These faith-community talent partnerships helped position the film directly to Angel Studios' core audience.
• Research and Development: Extensive location research in Israel, including the Valley of Elah where David's battle with Goliath took place historically, informed the visual design of the environments. This commitment to geographic authenticity distinguishes David from animated biblical films that rely on generic ancient-world aesthetics.
• Angel Studios Distribution: As both a co-producer and distributor, Angel Studios brought its community-engagement theatrical model to bear, mobilizing faith community networks and church groups for group screenings at the December 19 release.

How Does David (2025)'s Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $60.9 million, David is one of the most ambitious animated biblical films ever produced in terms of production investment, and its worldwide gross of $85.9 million demonstrates the commercial potential of high-quality faith-focused animation for the right audience.

• The Prince of Egypt (1998): Budget $70M | Worldwide $218.6M. The DreamWorks animated biblical film remains the commercial and critical benchmark. David was produced for less but achieved a lower worldwide gross, though it set a new animated biblical opening weekend record.
• The King of Kings (2025): Budget $25.2M | Worldwide $83.5M. Released eight months before David, this animated biblical film from Angel Studios also set opening weekend records and achieved similar worldwide gross at less than half the production cost. The contrast raises interesting questions about budget efficiency in the genre.
• Joseph: King of Dreams (2000): Budget $20M | Direct-to-video. DreamWorks' follow-up to The Prince of Egypt bypassed theatrical for home video, recognizing that the animated biblical market had limits after Exodus. David's theatrical success demonstrates that the market has grown significantly in 25 years.
• The Star (2017): Budget $20M | Worldwide $43.1M. Sony's animated nativity story found modest commercial success. David's $60.9M investment and $85.9M return represents a more ambitious and successful execution of the animated biblical format.

David (2025) Box Office Performance

David (2025) grossed approximately $80.4 million domestically and $5.5 million internationally for a worldwide total of $85.9 million. The film was distributed by Angel Studios in the United States and opened on December 19, 2025. Its debut weekend gross of $22 million set the record for the highest opening weekend for an animated biblical film, surpassing the previous record set by The King of Kings (2025) earlier that same year.

Against a production budget of $60.9 million and an estimated P&A spend of $20 million for the Angel Studios theatrical campaign, the total investment was approximately $80.9 million. With theaters retaining approximately 50% of gross receipts, Angel Studios' share of the $85.9 million worldwide gross was roughly $42.95 million. The film did not fully recoup its total investment from theatrical alone but came close, with streaming, home video, and international licensing providing the expected path to profitability.

• Production Budget: $60.9 million
• Estimated P&A: $20 million
• Total Investment: $80.9 million
• Domestic Gross: $80.4 million
• International Gross: $5.5 million
• Worldwide Gross: $85.9 million
• Estimated Studio Share (50%): $42.95 million
• ROI (on production budget): approximately 41%

David earned roughly $1.41 for every $1 invested in production, a positive return that demonstrates the film's commercial viability in the faith-animated space. However, the significantly higher production cost relative to The King of Kings (2025), which achieved comparable worldwide gross at $25.2 million, suggests that future animated biblical films from Angel Studios may recalibrate budget ambitions.

David (2025) Production History

David was developed by 2521 Entertainment, Slingshot Productions, and Sunrise Animation Studios as an animated retelling of one of the Bible's most dramatic biographical narratives, the life of David from shepherd boy who slew Goliath through his reign as King of Israel. The project was co-directed and co-written by Brent Dawes and Phil Cunningham, based on the Books of Samuel.

The production team conducted extensive location research in Israel, visiting the Valley of Elah where the biblical battle between David and Goliath is set, as well as Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, and the Judaean Desert. This fieldwork informed the design of the film's backgrounds, which critics praised as the most visually accomplished element of the production.

For the score, the production recruited Joseph Trapanese, whose Hollywood credits include Straight Outta Compton, Oblivion, and the Raid series. Trapanese recorded the orchestral score with the Budapest Film Orchestra, a production facility known for its work on major animated and blockbuster films. Original songs were written by Jonas Myrin, a Swedish-American Christian songwriter who has collaborated with Hillsong and Lauren Daigle. Daigle also contributed a voice role to the production.

Angel Studios co-produced and distributed the film, applying its community-engagement theatrical strategy to the December 19, 2025 release, targeting the Christmas holiday window when faith-oriented family content performs strongly. The $22 million opening weekend exceeded all prior animated biblical film records, including the one The King of Kings had set just eight months earlier in April 2025.

Awards and Recognition

David (2025) set the record for the highest opening weekend for an animated biblical film with its $22 million debut, surpassing the record set by The King of Kings (2025) in April of the same year. CinemaScore audiences awarded it an A grade, and PostTrak surveys showed 85% overall positivity. Critics praised the film's visual artistry, particularly the animated backgrounds inspired by the production team's research in Israel. The Budapest Film Orchestra score by Joseph Trapanese received industry recognition for its ambition in the animated biblical genre.

Critical Reception

David (2025) earned 78% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes from 49 critics. The critical consensus notes that the film "offsets its predictability with gorgeously animated backgrounds," reflecting both the production's visual strengths and its narrative conservatism. Critics praised Sunrise Animation Studios' background art, which drew directly from research trips to Israeli historical sites, as the film's most distinctive achievement. Some reviewers noted that the film's coverage of David's story moved quickly through the source material, leaving several dramatic beats from the Books of Samuel underdeveloped. Voice performances by Phil Wickham and Lauren Daigle were noted as effective within the confines of the animated musical format. Audience reception was meaningfully stronger than the critical response, with CinemaScore's A grade and 85% PostTrak approval indicating that Angel Studios' core audience found the film deeply satisfying.