By Ray Subers as published in BoxOfficeMojo
Led by the awful debut of big-budget board game adaptation Battleship, three new nationwide releases tried and failed to unseat The Avengers this weekend. In fact, the blockbuster superhero team-up earned about as much in its third weekend as all three new releases combined, which is the latest sign that the movie is a true box office phenomenon. Without any real help from the openers, though, the Top 12 was down 31 percent from the same frame last year when Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opened to $90.15 million.
The Avengers fell 46 percent to an $55.6 million, which is the second-best third weekend on record behind Avatar($68.5 million). The movie passed $450 million on Sunday, which was only its 17th day in theaters. That's a new record for reaching that mark ahead of The Dark Knight's 27 days. So far, The Avengers has earned an incredible $457.7 million, and it currently ranks sixth on theall-time domestic chart. In the next day or two, it will passStar Wars to move in to the Top Five, and by the end of May the movie could pass The Dark Knight to take third place all-time.
Battleship opened in second place with a meager $25.5 million. Among recent Hasbro adaptations, that's a fraction of the three-day start for the first Transformers ($84.9 million) and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra ($54.7 million). It's also worse than middling alien invasion movies like Cowboys & Aliens ($36.4 million) and Battle: Los Angeles ($35.6 million), and is remarkably lower than star Taylor Kitsch's March sci-fi debacle John Carter($30.2 million). The audience was 57 percent male and 55 percent under the age of 30, and they awarded the movie a fine "B" CinemaScore.
Adapting a naval strategy board game in to an alien invasion movie always seemed like a questionable choice to movie bloggers and the like, and previews only served to exacerbate that sentiment by making Battleship look like a cynical attempt to get in on some of that Transformers money. In this case, though, the real nail in the coffin was The Avengers—audiences had and continued to turn out in droves to see the legendary superhero team prevent aliens from leveling Manhattan, and Battleship's aliens-at-sea premise really had no chance of competing.
The Dictator took third with $17.4 million from 3,008 locations, which brought the comedy's five-day total to $24.5 million. That's less than Borat ($26.5 million) or Bruno ($30.6 million) made over their first three days, but it's still not an altogether awful start considering the protagonist is a North African dictator who hates women, gays, minorities, and America. Exit polling indicated that the audience skewed male (65 percent) and younger (56 percent under 25), and they gave the movie an awful "C" CinemaScore (not entirely surprising for a movie that often crosses the line in to satire, which mainstream audiences tend to reject).
While Battleship was the more obvious bomb thanks to its enormous budget, What to Expect When You're Expecting didn't exactly have a successful delivery either. The ensemble pregnancy comedy grossed a paltry $10.55 million this weekend, which is off from recent pregnancy comedies Baby Mama ($17.4 million) and starJennifer Lopez's The Back-Up Plan ($12.2 million) and was also down from underperforming ensemble rom-comNew Year's Eve ($13 million). The movie was the only thing targeted specifically at women in May, and therefore really ought to have had a more successful start, but Lionsgate muddled the marketing with the "Dudes Group" ads. The ploy to get men out to see a pregnancy comedy doesn't seem to have paid off—the audience wound up being 70 percent female. That audience was also on the older side (64 percent over the age of 25), and they gave the movie a low "B-" CinemaScore.
Dark Shadows plummeted 58 percent to $12.6 million in its second weekend. That brought the movie's 10-day total to $50.7 million, and Tim Burton and Johnny Depp's vampire soap opera revival has zero chance of ending up north of $100 million.
Fox Searchlight looks to have a legitimate sleeper hit on its hands with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. The geriatric comedy doubled its theater count to 354 and was up 21 percent to $3.23 million. With $8.23 million in the bank already, Marigold Hotel is now set for a nationwide expansion over Memorial Day weekend.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Monday, May 7, 2012
Weekend Report: 'Avengers' Smashes Records
(From BoxOfficeMojo by Ray Subers)
It's been clear for a while that The Avengers would be a box office success, though few people could have foreseen this opening. The superhero team-up got off to an unprecedented $200.3 million start this weekend, which obliterates the previous all-time weekend record set byHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 last Summer ($169.2 million).
While it fell short of setting a new opening day record (that still belongs to Potter), The Avengers was responsible for new high marks in most other major categories. It was the fastest movie ever to reach $100 million, $150 million, and $200 million, and it set new records for Saturday($69.7 million) and Sunday ($50.1 million) grosses. It also had the highest per-theater average ever for a nationwide release with $46,057.
Through its first three days, The Avengers has already grossed more than Thor ($181 million), Captain America: The First Avenger ($176.6 million) and The Incredible Hulk ($134.8 million). It's still behind Iron Man and Iron Man 2 ($318.4 million and $312.4 million, respectively), though it should pass those movies next weekend.
The incredible opening weekend gross for The Avengersis mostly the result of a lengthy, extremely effective marketing effort which began all the way back in 2008 when Nick Fury made his first appearance after the credits in the original Iron Man. By the time Thor and Captain America opened last year, it became clear that these movies existed in equal parts to make money and to serve as advertisements for The Avengers.
Still, there was the problem of reaching people who hadn't turned out for Thor, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk. That was solved by Disney's massive campaign that made the movie seem accessible even for people who have never picked up a comic book in their life. The marketing conveyed that there was a major threat, and the only way to combat it was by bringing together the world's greatest superheroes. The "head count" ad was a centerpiece of this campaign: it introduced each of the Avengers with a quip from the most-popular Avenger, Tony Stark/Iron Man, and provided a few brief glimpses of the character in action. By the end of that commercial, even the most oblivious viewers probably had a good sense for who everyone was.
The movie went on to receive strong reviews (94 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), which made anticipation reach even higher levels. It also helped that April's releases were anemic, so The Avengers was able to play on more screens than it would have if another major movie was in the market (like when Thor had to face Fast Fivelast year).
The big question now is how high The Avengers can go—it will obviously hit $400 million, and with exceptional word-of-mouth (rare "A+" CinemaScore) the movie could even be in line for a $500 million total.
The audience was split evenly between those above and below 25 years-of-age, and it was 60 percent male. 3D screenings accounted for 52 percent of the opening weekend gross, which is an improvement from Captain America's 40 percent but below Thor's 60 percent. That 3D share breaks down to 40 percent traditional 3D, 8 percent IMAX, and 4 percent premium large format.
The Avengers accounted for 82.7 percent of the est. $242 million the Top 12 earned this weekend. That's the second-highest weekend market share ever, and the weekend itself ranks fifth all-time in revenue (first for a Summer kick-off).
The titles that made up that other 17.3 percent expectedly took a big hit this weekend. Think Like a Man fell 55 percent to an estimated $8 million, which brings its total to $73 million. It is easily the highest-grossing April 2012 release, and should wind up with at least $85 million.
The Hunger Games stayed in the Top 3 for the seventh-straight weekend, though it dropped 47 percent to an estimated $5.7 million. So far, the movie has made $380.7 million, which ranks 14th on the all-time domestic chart. In the next day or two, it will pass Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2's $381 million.
The Lucky One dipped 49 percent to an estimated $5.5 million, and has thus far earned $47.9 million. The Pirates! Band of Misfits added $5.4 million, which is off 52 percent from its opening. That's a terrible drop for an animated movie, and it probably has to do with losing family audiences and some 3D screens to The Avengers.The Pirates! has only made $18.6 million through its first 10 days.
The Five-Year Engagement also took a tumble—the Jason Segel-Emily Blunt romantic comedy fell 52 percent to an estimated $5.1 million, and has to-date earned a paltry $19.2 million. Even worse, though, were The Ravenand Safe. Those movies dropped 66 percent and 69 percent to $2.51 million and $2.47 million, respectively. Safehas now grossed $12.9 million, while The Raven's total sits at $12 million.
While The Avengers was the only new nationwide release this weekend, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotelprovided great counterprogramming and played well in limited release. The movie ranked 15th for the weekend with an estimated $750,000 from just 27 locations, which translates to a strong $27,778 per-theater average. This kind of pleasant, well-reviewed adult comedy is right in distributor Fox Searchlight's wheelhouse, and it should be able to successfully expand over the next few weeks.
Discuss this story with fellow Box Office Mojo fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @boxofficemojo, and follow author Ray Subers at @raysubers.
It's been clear for a while that The Avengers would be a box office success, though few people could have foreseen this opening. The superhero team-up got off to an unprecedented $200.3 million start this weekend, which obliterates the previous all-time weekend record set byHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 last Summer ($169.2 million).
While it fell short of setting a new opening day record (that still belongs to Potter), The Avengers was responsible for new high marks in most other major categories. It was the fastest movie ever to reach $100 million, $150 million, and $200 million, and it set new records for Saturday($69.7 million) and Sunday ($50.1 million) grosses. It also had the highest per-theater average ever for a nationwide release with $46,057.
Through its first three days, The Avengers has already grossed more than Thor ($181 million), Captain America: The First Avenger ($176.6 million) and The Incredible Hulk ($134.8 million). It's still behind Iron Man and Iron Man 2 ($318.4 million and $312.4 million, respectively), though it should pass those movies next weekend.
The incredible opening weekend gross for The Avengersis mostly the result of a lengthy, extremely effective marketing effort which began all the way back in 2008 when Nick Fury made his first appearance after the credits in the original Iron Man. By the time Thor and Captain America opened last year, it became clear that these movies existed in equal parts to make money and to serve as advertisements for The Avengers.
Still, there was the problem of reaching people who hadn't turned out for Thor, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk. That was solved by Disney's massive campaign that made the movie seem accessible even for people who have never picked up a comic book in their life. The marketing conveyed that there was a major threat, and the only way to combat it was by bringing together the world's greatest superheroes. The "head count" ad was a centerpiece of this campaign: it introduced each of the Avengers with a quip from the most-popular Avenger, Tony Stark/Iron Man, and provided a few brief glimpses of the character in action. By the end of that commercial, even the most oblivious viewers probably had a good sense for who everyone was.
The movie went on to receive strong reviews (94 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), which made anticipation reach even higher levels. It also helped that April's releases were anemic, so The Avengers was able to play on more screens than it would have if another major movie was in the market (like when Thor had to face Fast Fivelast year).
The big question now is how high The Avengers can go—it will obviously hit $400 million, and with exceptional word-of-mouth (rare "A+" CinemaScore) the movie could even be in line for a $500 million total.
The audience was split evenly between those above and below 25 years-of-age, and it was 60 percent male. 3D screenings accounted for 52 percent of the opening weekend gross, which is an improvement from Captain America's 40 percent but below Thor's 60 percent. That 3D share breaks down to 40 percent traditional 3D, 8 percent IMAX, and 4 percent premium large format.
The Avengers accounted for 82.7 percent of the est. $242 million the Top 12 earned this weekend. That's the second-highest weekend market share ever, and the weekend itself ranks fifth all-time in revenue (first for a Summer kick-off).
The titles that made up that other 17.3 percent expectedly took a big hit this weekend. Think Like a Man fell 55 percent to an estimated $8 million, which brings its total to $73 million. It is easily the highest-grossing April 2012 release, and should wind up with at least $85 million.
The Hunger Games stayed in the Top 3 for the seventh-straight weekend, though it dropped 47 percent to an estimated $5.7 million. So far, the movie has made $380.7 million, which ranks 14th on the all-time domestic chart. In the next day or two, it will pass Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2's $381 million.
The Lucky One dipped 49 percent to an estimated $5.5 million, and has thus far earned $47.9 million. The Pirates! Band of Misfits added $5.4 million, which is off 52 percent from its opening. That's a terrible drop for an animated movie, and it probably has to do with losing family audiences and some 3D screens to The Avengers.The Pirates! has only made $18.6 million through its first 10 days.
The Five-Year Engagement also took a tumble—the Jason Segel-Emily Blunt romantic comedy fell 52 percent to an estimated $5.1 million, and has to-date earned a paltry $19.2 million. Even worse, though, were The Ravenand Safe. Those movies dropped 66 percent and 69 percent to $2.51 million and $2.47 million, respectively. Safehas now grossed $12.9 million, while The Raven's total sits at $12 million.
While The Avengers was the only new nationwide release this weekend, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotelprovided great counterprogramming and played well in limited release. The movie ranked 15th for the weekend with an estimated $750,000 from just 27 locations, which translates to a strong $27,778 per-theater average. This kind of pleasant, well-reviewed adult comedy is right in distributor Fox Searchlight's wheelhouse, and it should be able to successfully expand over the next few weeks.
Discuss this story with fellow Box Office Mojo fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @boxofficemojo, and follow author Ray Subers at @raysubers.
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