Box office was up from last year....
It doesn't look like these heroes are even close to being ready to surrender the top spot just yet!! The Avengers continued to break records in its' second weekend, dropping a surprisingly slim 50% (comparing to other blockbusters that drop usually 60% or more) to $103.1 million (averaging a super $23,696 from around 12,000 screens at 4,349 theaters), surpassing Avatar's $75.6 million second weekend to take the record for the biggest-second weekend ever. It also was a much stronger hold than The Dark Knight, The Hunger Games, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II, and all previous Marvel movies (with the exception of Thor) experienced in their second weekends. The superhero blockbuster still is behind Dark Knight in terms of attendance, but the film broke the records for the fastest film to reach $300 million (nine days), $350 million (10 days), and the highest-gross for a film in nine and 10 days. In that amount of time, the film has already earned a monster $373.2 million, already ranking 18th on the all-time domestic chart. If it can continue holding well, it could keep playing well until The Amazing Spider-Man hits on July 3.
Overseas, the film has already taken in $640 million, and in the process becoming the 12th movie in history to pass the $1 billion mark worldwide, and tying Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II and Avatar for the fastest film to reach that mark (19 days).
The only film brave enough to open in the face of The Avengers was Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's latest collaboration, Dark Shadows, which underperformed with $29.7 million, for a per-theater average of a good $7,906 from around 6,300 screens at 3,755 theaters. That was below analysts' and studio expectations, who had projected the film to open to at least around $35 million. But its' hard to open a film on the second weekend of May and have it do strong business against a superhero megahit (Last years' Bridesmaids is a notable exception). Distributor Warner Bros. produced the film for at least $120 million, so the film will be a disappointment stateside. The good news is that it earned nearly $37 million overseas this weekend, so it could end up being a success after all, eventually. Critical reception was negative and audiences were mixed ("B-" CinemaScore).
The remaining films weren't as impressive, though most of them posted relatively solid holds.
Think Like A Man was down just 28% from last weekend to $5.8 million, for a solid $81.4 million gross in 24 days and should top out with around $90 million. In its' eighth weekend, The Hunger Games continued to defy all odds, down just 19% to $4.5 million and sliding just one spot to fourth, for a mammoth $387 million gross in 56 days, and will surrender 2012's top spot to The Avengers on Tuesday. The Lucky One was down a light 24% to $4.1 million, for a good $53.8 million gross in 24 days, on its' way to around $60 million.
The Five-Year Engagement was down 34% to $3.3 million, for a mild $24.6 million in the same amount of time and slotting in sixth. The Pirates! Band of Misfits continued to disappoint, with a 43% drop to sixth place and $3.1 million, for a $23 million gross in 17 days. Aardman's latest, however, is about to pass the $100 million mark worldwide, which should make it a decent success against a $55 million budget. Limited release The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel reached eighth place with $2.7 million from just 178 theaters, and averaging an excellent $15,012 per venue (ranking second to The Avengers in theater averages this weekend).
Chimpanzee held onto the ninth spot in its' fourth weekend, down 29% to $1.8 million, for a pretty solid $25.7 million gross in 24 days. Safe rounded out the Top 10, with a 46% drop to $1.4 million, for a 17-day total of a forgettable $15.7 million.
Chimpanzee held onto the ninth spot in its' fourth weekend, down 29% to $1.8 million, for a pretty solid $25.7 million gross in 24 days. Safe rounded out the Top 10, with a 46% drop to $1.4 million, for a 17-day total of a forgettable $15.7 million.
Overall box office was up 22% from this same weekend last year when Thor held well for a superhero flick, down 47% to $34.7 million. Judd Apatow female-centric comedy Bridesmaids debuted in second with an estimated $26.2 million, but showed impressive stability over the weeks ahead and actually wound up earning more than six times that amount by the end of its' run, with nearly $170 million stateside. Fast Five slid 37% to third with $20.4 million, while dark comic book adaptation Priest debuted in fourth with an unspectacular $15 million, crashing to only about $30 million stateside. Rio rounded out the Top 5 in its fifth weekend, down a slim 3% to $8.3 million.
