Debuting on top, as expected, was the latest from Melissa McCarthy, Spy. The action comedy did, however, open a little lower than expected, pulling in $30 million, for a fairly solid $8,084 per-venue average. That's not quite as high as The Heat, which earned $38 million on its debut (though, to be fair, that one also benefited from having Sandra Bullock as a co-lead with McCarthy), and its also a couple of steps down from Identity Thief ($35 million). But, it is higher than Tammy ($22 million). While not as high as buzz had predicted it to be, there's absolutely no way this debut can be called a disappointment. For McCarthy to have 3 $30+ million debuts in the last 3 years is very impressive. And, we also need to remember her breakout movie, Bridesmaids, got off to a similar start ($26 million) but had huge staying power. With fantastic reviews (95% on Rotten Tomatoes), there's a chance Spy could have long legs in theaters. The CinemaScore was a "B+". Distributor Fox produced the film for $65 million.Overall, most movies didn't meet their weekend projections based on their Friday estimates, partially due to more and more kids getting out of school and American Pharaoh's triple crown run on Saturday.
After a strong debut last weekend, San Andreas didn't completely fall apart. The disaster flick fell 52% to $26.4 million, for a very good $99.1 million gross in 10 days. The Dwayne Johnson flick needed to have a decent hold before Jurassic World comes stomping into town next weekend. Overseas, the earthquake film had a strong debut in China, and earned another $98 million overseas altogether this weekend, for a worldwide total of already close to $300 million in just 10 days. Look for a worldwide finish above $500 million.
Debuting in third place with slightly less than expected was the horror threequel Insidious - Chapter 3, which pulled in $23 million, for a per-venue average of a fairly solid $7,662. That's just over half of Chapter 2's $40 million debut from September 2013, but it does edge out the Poltergeist remake's $22 million start from a couple of weeks ago to take the highest 3-day debut for a horror flick this year so far. With just a $10 million budget, Chapter 3 is still set to finish as a major hit. Reviews were decent (61% on Rotten Tomatoes), while the CinemaScore was a "B+" (fantastic for horror fare). It could play better than normal for its genre, but then again, Jurassic World could take a bite out of almost everyone next weekend.
Meanwhile, debuting in fourth place with mediocre results was TV adaptation Entourage. The R-rated flick, after a solid start on Wednesday, proved to be very front-loaded, ending up with just $10.4 million over the 3-day weekend (very mild $3,353 per-venue average), and $17.8 million in 5 days. Expectations for the film were varied, the buzz was strong among fans of the show, but fan inflation clearly limited optimism for tracking. But even so, many were confident in a 5-day expectation of at least $20 million, and falling short of that is disappointing. Entourage did earn an "A-" CinemaScore, despite negative reviews (30% on Rotten Tomatoes), so it could hold well later in its run, but the front-loadedness is far from a good sign. Warner Bros. and HBO Films produced the film for a relatively small $30 million.Three of the Top 5 films in the nation were distributed by Warner Bros., as Mad Max: Fury Road finally overtook Pitch Perfect 2 on the charts. The critically-adored action flick had another solid hold, off 44% to $8 million, and a very good $130.8 million pick-up in 24 days. Even with Jurassic World on the horizon, Max seems likely to pass its $150 million budget domestically before its done. Worldwide, it is at $315 million with it still yet to get a release in China.
Pitch Perfect 2 was right behind it with a 48% decline to $7.7 million, and a strong $161 million gross in 24 days. The Barden Bellas continue to do solidly overseas, with the worldwide gross passing $250 million in a fantastic year for distributor Universal, with Jurassic World, Ted 2 and Minions still yet to come.
Despite a decent Friday-to-Friday hold, a smaller increase than expected on Saturday kept Tomorrowland from having a needed strong hold. The Disney disappointment was off another 51% to $7 million, for a 17-day gross of just $76.2 million, with the final gross now unlikely to reach $100 million. It is only at $170 million worldwide with it playing now in all of its international footprint (it did open in first place in Japan, in one bright spot).
Avengers: Age of Ultron is starting to wind down its run, as it prepares to brace for Jurassic World to knock away a lot of its remaining screen count. The superhero blockbuster fell 45% in its sixth weekend to $6.2 million, for a still-fantastic $438 million gross in 42 days, and passing E.T. for ninth place on the all-time domestic chart. Ultron is still on pace for a domestic finish anywhere between $450 and $460 million. It is slowing quickly overseas, and even with a strong performance in Japan, seems like it will fall short of not just its predecessor, but Furious 7 ($1.51 billion) as well. Considering its sky-high expectations, that has to still sting just a little bit,
Following a disappointing start last week, bad word-of-mouth hurt Aloha, which plummeted 66% to $3.3 million, and an abysmal $16.3 million 10-day gross. Cameron Crowe's latest will have a hard time reaching $25 million by the time it is done, and will be forgotten very very soon. Rounding out the Top 10 in its third weekend is the Poltergeist remake, which fell an understandable 65% thanks to competition from Insidious. Fox's successful horror flick earned another $2.85 million, and is at $44.5 million in 17 days, and should eke just past the $50 million mark.
The summer season has struggled somewhat out of the gate, even with Avengers, Pitch Perfect 2 and San Andreas leading the charge. But, things should roar back to life next weekend as Jurassic World is tracking for a debut above $100 million. How high will it go?
