New Patriotic Movie Gains Independence Day Boost in Promising Box Office Forecast

It’s time to wave the flag as the war drama film Young Washington has earned a strong box office prediction. Releasing during the Independence Day weekend on July 3, the historical biopic follows the rise of George Washington (William Franklyn-Miller) before becoming America’s first president. Directed and co-written by Jon Erwin, the star-studded movie features portrayals of his mother Mary Ball Washington (Mary-Louise Parker), Virginia lieutenant governor Robert Dinwiddle (Ben Kingsley), British Army officer Edward Braddock (Andy Serkis), and American planter Thomas Fairfax (Kelsey Grammer). Interestingly, there hasn’t really been a prominent film that focuses on George Washington, though the president has been featured in various TV series like The Crossing or as a secondary character in Hamilton and The Patriot.

Young Washington earns a solid box office prediction

An early box office forecast for Young Washington has the film earning $28 million, in the range between $23 million and $35 million, in its domestic opener from July 3 to July 5. For its full domestic theatrical run, the drama is expected to earn a solid $105 million, or somewhere between $85 million and $145 million.

This prediction is based on a June 5 analysis from BoxOfficeTheory, which projects that this joint production between Angel Studios and Wonder Project will gain a boost over the holiday weekend in celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. In fact, for Angel Studios the movie is expected to be one of its “best performances to date as they rally guild members to help make it the #1 film at the box office for the semiquincentennial.” Whether this will happen, though, is up in the air due to some heavy competition during the summer calendar.

Young Washington will be in a direct head-to-head battle against Illumination’s Minions & Monsters, which releases on Wednesday, July 1, and is on track to make roughly $57 million in its domestic opener (its five-day domestic start is closer to $91 million). The movie is also coming out in the second weekend for Supergirl and the third weekend for Toy Story 5, both of which could make more at the box office than Young Washington will during its weekend debut.

Still, the film’s predicted $105 million domestic haul would place it above those for several high-profile movies this year, including the $84 million of Wuthering Heights, the $79 million for Mortal Kombat 2, and $70 million for The Housemaid. And compared to its competition, Young Washington stands out as a historical drama that should help serve as counter-programming during the summer stretch.

Fortunately, Young Washington has steadily gained momentum over the last year. The movie’s initial teaser, which came out in October 2025, has gained more than 7.3 million views on YouTube. Yet it’s far more recent trailer released in the middle of April has already received over 10.9 million views on the platform so far. This suggests that casual moviegoers are paying more attention to the film.

The synopsis for the presidential movie reads, “Before he was the Father of a Nation, he was a soldier fighting to survive. A single misstep thrusts young George Washington into the center of a global conflict, testing his honor, loyalty, and courage. As alliances crumble and the frontier erupts into war, he must confront not only his enemies but the man he’s becoming. This is the untold story of Young Washington.”

At CinemaCon in April, Angel Studios revealed that Young Washington is only one of eight movies on its ambitious slate this year. It includes Jeff Daniels’ The Brink of War (August 14), Owen Wilson’s Runner (September 1), Tommy Lee Jones’ Angel and the Badman (October), and Sam Worthington’s Zero A.D. (Christmas).