At Pressure Cooker Studios, we love seeing local work succeed on a global stage. The recent South African release of David has been one of those moments. Watching a film developed and produced out of South Africa achieve record breaking success in North America has been genuinely exciting, not just for the teams directly involved, but for the industry as a whole.
David’s international performance speaks for itself. A standout opening weekend, sustained box office momentum, and a position among the top animated releases of the year, place it alongside major global studio titles. It marks the strongest North American showing for a South African film since District 9, and reinforces something we have felt building for a while now:
Work of this level coming out of our continent is going to become more and more the norm, and not the exception.
What makes this success particularly meaningful is the journey behind it. Led by Sunrise Animation Studios, and directed by Phil Cunningham and Brent Dawes, David is the result of more than a decade of commitment. Hundreds of artists and crew, working from Cape Town and across the world, came together to build something ambitious in scale and execution. Distributed by Angel Studios, the film stands as proof that South African led productions with the right vision can meet international standards.
While we did not compose the music for the feature film, our connection to the David universe goes back many years through the prequel series Young David. We were fortunate to collaborate on that earlier chapter, handling the original music composition and helping to shape the emotional foundation of the world long before the feature reached cinemas.
That work was rooted in authenticity, using period relevant instruments, live musicians and orchestral recording to build a sound that felt grounded, human and cinematic. You can read more about that process in our earlier blog on the music of Young David.
Seeing the feature film now resonate so strongly with audiences has been deeply rewarding. As our CEO James Matthes reflected after watching it with his two kids, Ella and Max: “It was such a beautiful experience finally watching that film come to life. I was certainly in tears. That’s a testament to the incredible job the team at Sunrise have done. The songs really touched me and made me feel something special. It was a really, really special experience.”
For us, David is not just a successful film. It is another signal of where our industry as a whole is heading. Long term vision, deep collaboration and belief in the work are paying off. Local teams are building projects that travel, compete and endure on a global stage.
We are excited to see where this momentum leads next, and proud to be part of an industry that continues to raise the bar, together.