It was expected to be close, but, in the end, it was Sony Animation and The Angry Birds Movie that wound up on top. The video game adaptation got off to a solid start, earning $39 million from 3,932 locations ($9,919 per-venue average). Sony was expecting a debut in the high-30's millions, based on marketing and buzz. Overall, anticipation was decent, especially considering there hasn't been any animated movies since Zootopia. Overseas, the movie is doing great business, where it has earned $150 million worldwide in two weeks (it opened in many territories last week). In comparison to recent non-Disney animated efforts, Angry Birds opened in line with Epic ($37 million) as well as the first Hotel Transylvania ($42 million). As for the future, there is some competition for older kids in the form of Alice through the Looking Glass and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows coming in the next couple weeks. Reviews were mixed-to-negative (42% on Rotten Tomatoes), while the CinemaScore was a B+. The budget for the film was a relatively modest (for a big studio animated flick) $73 million.After topping the last two weekends, Captain America: Civil War fell back to third, and failed to stabilize, probably because kids were taken away by the main new attraction. Civil War fell 54% to $33.1 million, for a still-strong $347.4 million gross in 17 days. Overseas, however, Civil War passed $700 million overseas, and became the 25th movie ever to pass $1 billion worldwide. It currently ranks 19th on the all-time list with a gross of $1.05 billion. Next weekend will bring competition from X-Men: Apocalypse, and the overall domestic gross continues to fall behind Avengers: Age of Ultron through the same point. Regardless, there's no way $1 billion or more can be written off as a disappointment.
Opening in third place was the R-rated comedy sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, which opened way below expectations with $21.8 million, for a $6,439 per-venue average. In comparison, the first Neighbors earned $49 million in its opening weekend two years ago. Considering the solid reception the first movie had critics and audience-wise, this kind-of drop-off is a surprise. However, the same could have been said for last year's Ted 2 and Magic Mike XXL, which both fell off heavily from their predecessors as well stateside. Reviews were positive (61% on Rotten Tomatoes) and the CinemaScore was a "B". It could play well in the coming weeks, as there isn't really any real competition for it in the coming weeks. The budget was $35 million.
Meanwhile, opening in fourth place, as expected, was the crime dramedy The Nice Guys. Landing on many critics' Top 10 anticipated list, the Shane Black production failed to get major traction, pulling in $11.3 million, for a mild $3,934 per-venue average. That's basically the same as another comedy that was in a similar "anticipated" situation this year, Hail, Ceasar! But, considering the fantastic reviews the movie got (91% on Rotten Tomatoes), and the strong marketing effort, one has to wonder why this didn't do more (even if it is slightly ahead of expectations). Perhaps opening the same weekend as Neighbors 2 wasn't a good idea (both might have cannibalized each other's audience). Despite the strong critical reception, the CinemaScore was only a "B-", which may not point to good word-of-mouth. The budget for the film was $50 million, which may be very hard to reach. Instead, distributor Warner Bros. may have to hope for attention perhaps during awards season.
The Jungle Book continued to play strong in its sixth weekend, off just 36% to $11 million, for a fantastic $327.5 million pick-up in 24 days. It also passed $850 million worldwide with Japan and Korea still yet to open. Money Monster, on the other hand, fell 52% to $7.1 million, for a somewhat underwhelming $27.1 million gross in 10 days. It should get a decent perk-up over Memorial Day Weekend. Horror flick The Darkness was a distant seventh, off 52% to $2.4 million, for an unmemorable $8.5 million gross in 10 days, with not much more to go.
In its 12th (!) weekend of release, Zootopia is continuing to play like a 90's movie (and its Blu-ray release is in just two weeks), and held surprisingly well in the face of Angry Birds. Still playing in 1,300 locations, the animated blockbuster was off 40% to $1.7 million, for a huge $334.4 million gross in 84 days. Fellow Disney movie Alice through the Looking Glass might take away a lot of its remaining screens next week. Overseas, its holding amazingly well in Japan, and is now the fourth-biggest animated movie ever worldwide at $982 million, and it may have enough gas to ultimately edge past the $1 billion milestone.
The Huntsman: Winter's War slotted ninth in its fifth weekend, off 55% to $1.2 million, for a still very disappointing $46.7 million gross in one month of release. Rounding out the Top 10 in its fourth weekend was Mother's Day, which fell another 66% to $1.1 million, for a decent $31.3 million gross in 24 days. Against a $25 million budget, the Garry Marshall flick will escape from flop territory.
Next weekend is Memorial Day Weekend (one of my favorite weekends to track), and a major battle is brewing as the highly-anticipated X-Men: Apocalypse arrives to face off against Disney's Alice Through the Looking Glass. One is having surprisingly mixed reviews, while the other will try to overcome its' predecessors' decisively mixed reception. We shall see what we shall find.
