Things could change by the time actuals are revealed tomorrow, but for now, Disney and Marvel have the leg up as Ant-Man is estimated to keep the top spot in its second weekend. Marvel's latest didn't hold well, off 57% to $24.8 million, for a 10-day gross of a fairly decent $106.1 million. In terms of superhero movies in general, Ant-Man fell in line with Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy, and was a slightly better second frame hold than Avengers: Age of Ultron and The Incredible Hulk. Unfortunately, however, it needed a better hold than this to make up ground from its mildly disappointing start. And with Mission - Impossible: Rogue Nation and Fantastic Four around the corner, Ant-Man may struggle to get past $150 million stateside. Overseas, however, it's doing great, with the worldwide tally at $225 million already in 61% of the international marketplace (with still some major territories left to open). Thank goodness the $130 million budget was less than almost all other Marvel films of this decade.
It was originally expected to easily take the top spot, but Pixels failed to make much noise, as the Adam Sandler flick opened to just $24 million, for a per-venue average of a mild $6,446 from 3,723 locations. That's higher than Sandler's recent live-action efforts, including That's My Boy and Blended, and it is in line with Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 from earlier this year. But, on a budget that was $90 million (not including marketing), this should have done much better. Sony had marketed this strongly and hoped this would be a major hit, but their post-hack year continues to not be a great one. Pixels got bad reviews (19% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a "B" CinemaScore, both not good indicators of good word-of-mouth. It could play fine over the next few weeks, but I don't think it will hit $100 million. Overseas got off to a solid start, pulling in $25 million from 42% of the international marketplace, and bringing its worldwide launch to $50 million. Sony was projecting $25 million.In a close third, Minions continued to fall off quickly, off 55% in its third weekend to $22.1 million, for a still very strong $261.6 million pick-up in 17 days. The gap has closed between it and Despicable Me 2, as discounting that movie's Wednesday start, they are pretty much neck-and-neck. Minions is doing huge overseas, having earned almost $500 million overseas so far. With China and Japan still yet to open, there is a good chance Minions finds its way past the $1 billion mark.
Fellow Universal pic Trainwreck held better, and was off 43% in its second weekend to $17.3 million. The Louisiana theater shooting took place in a screening of this movie, so its possible it could have held a bit better had the event not happened. But, Amy Schumer's film debut has earned a rock-solid $61.5 million in 10 days.
Opening in fifth place with stronger-than-expected results was Jake Gyllenhaal's boxing drama Southpaw. The Antoine Fuqua film opened to a very solid $16.5 million, for a per-venue average of a decent $5,952. Analysts had projected a low-teens millions debut this weekend, as many feared the R rating would hold general audiences back. But, despite mixed reviews (58% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave the film an "A" CinemaScore. This is the kind-of film that, if it gets great word-of-mouth, it could continue to draw in adults and play well over the remainder of the Summer. This is one we'll have to keep our eyes on. Distributor The Weinstein Company produced the film for just $30 million.
Meanwhile, book adaptation Paper Towns failed to attract much interest. Despite earning strong online buzz for the past couple of months, the teenage dramedy was extremely front-loaded over the weekend, pulling in $12.5 million in sixth place ($6.3 million of which was earned on Friday). The per-venue average was a mild $4,124 from 3,031 locations. That is about one-fourth of The Fault in Our Stars' $48 million debut from last summer. However, that movie's book basis was a lot more popular and had a more bankable star in Shailene Woodley. On the positive end, distributor 20th Century Fox produced it for just $12 million, and overseas has already added another $16 million so far. So this will likely (quietly) make it into the black, but its still somewhat disappointing given how strong anticipation seemed to be. Fox was hoping for a $20 million debut.
Inside Out continued to play very well in its sixth weekend, off 36% to $7.4 million, for a strong $320.3 million gross in 42 days. There is a good chance that Pixar's latest could wind up above $350 million by the time it concludes its run. And there's also buzz circulating that Inside Out could end up being just the fourth animated movie ever to earn a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars.
Once again, Riley's emotions continued to run neck-and-neck with the Indominus rex, as Jurassic World continued to draw in crowds in its seventh weekend. The blockbuster was off 40% to $6.9 million. In the process, the Colin Trevorrow flick is projected to pass The Avengers for third place on the all-time chart stateside today, as it stands at an unbelievable $623.8 million in 49 days. At its current pace, World looks to finish around $650 million, which would be just short of second place Titanic's lifetime gross of $658.7 million.
Moving up to ninth place after a solid limited release last week, Mr. Holmes expanded to 686 locations and pulled in a solid $2.8 million, or a 17% increase from last week. The Ian McKellen drama averaged $4,153 per-venue and has earned a decent $6.4 million in 10 days. Distributor Roadside Attractions could expand this further in the coming weeks.
Rounding out the Top 10 in its fourth week was Terminator: Genysis, which fell another 56% to $2.4 million. In 26 days. the arguably failed reboot has earned a meager $85.7 million, and will probably end up just north of $90 million. Terminator has saved face overseas though, as it passed $300 million worldwide this weekend (with China still to open).
Well, that's it. Next weekend brings Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation and the Vacation remake. Will they jolt the box office back to life as overall business approaches the August slow-down? We shall see.
