Outperforming expectations and taking #1 was Melissa McCarthy's latest, The Boss. The R-rated comedy, despite atrocious reviews (18% on Rotten Tomatoes), opened to a very solid $23.6 million, for a per-venue average of a solid $6,778. That isn't quite as strong as Spy ($29.5 million) or Identity Thief ($36 million), but it is bigger than Tammy's $21.5 million three-day weekend (but that one opened on a Wednesday). McCarthy is certainly continuing to prove she is a solid draw at the box office. Boss only got a "C+" CinemaScore, but there is little to no competition for R-rated comedies coming up (until well into May), so this could be the default choice for adults for the remainder of the Spring season.
It was very close, but Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice fell off the top spot just narrowly. But the steep drops continued as the superhero mash-up fell another 55% to $23.4 million, for a still very strong $296.6 million gross in 17 days. At its current pace (and with The Jungle Book set to steal more audience this coming weekend), Batman v. Superman will likely finish around $340 million, or just over twice its opening weekend. Clearly audiences are down-the-middle on this one. Overseas continues to be strong (but its also falling off quickly), with $785 million worldwide in three weeks.
Continuing to fare much better in its sixth weekend of release is Disney Animation's blockbuster Zootopia, which was down just 26% to $14.3 million, for a strong $296 million gross in 42 days. There is a chance Zootopia finishes ahead of Batman v. Superman domestically (though fellow Disney movie The Jungle Book will take away some audience), and will become only the 10th animated movie in history to pass $300 million domestically by the end of this week. Its also at $850 million worldwide and is about to pass the final worldwide gross of Inside Out.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 continued to hold decently in its third frame, off 42% to $6.5 million, for a solid $46.8 million gross in 17 days. Look for a final gross of around $65 million, nowhere near the legs of the original, but still very respectable.
Opening in fifth place with bad results was the up close and personal action flick Hardcore Henry. Shot reportedly with GoPro cameras, the STX Entertainment release flopped with just $5.1 million, for a $1,694 per-venue average. Despite decent buzz, overall awareness just wasn't great for the R-rated film. Look for this to fade fast. The budget was likely fairly cheap though so this one probably won't make much red ink for everyone involved.Miracles from Heaven continued to hold well in its fourth frame, off 35% to $4.7 million, for a very solid $53.7 million gross in 26 days. After a somewhat disappointing start last weekend, God's Not Dead 2 failed to show the staying power of its predecessor, off 47% to $4.1 million. The sequel is at $14 million in 10 days, seven times its $2 million budget. Look for a finish close to $25 million. Solid, but less than half of its predecessor.
The Divergent Series: Allegiant was off 39% to $3.5 million, for a still disappointing $61.7 million gross in 24 days. Its about to pass $150 million worldwide, still nowhere near Insurgent's $300 million worldwide finish. 10 Cloverfield Lane continued to level off solidly, off 36% in is fifth weekend to $2.9 million, for a very solid $67.9 million gross in one month of release.
Rounding out the Top 10 was Eye in the Sky which was off just 27% to $2.9 million. One of Alan Rickman's final films added 60 locations and is at a good $10.5 million in one month since its limited release.
And that's it. Next weekend Disney's back in the ballgame as their highly-anticipated remake of The Jungle Book opens. Also debuting are Criminal (which I made an error on, it wasn't debuting last week) and threequel Barbershop: The Next Cut. Its' sure to be a fun weekend. Stay tuned.
