Critical acclaim is not always everything. This weekend, the highly acclaimed fell to second against the mildly acclaimed. Pitch Perfect 2 has received a warm reception and a whopping estimated $70.3 million in its opening weekend, beating out Mad Max: Fury Road, which had an incredible critical reception but only a mild estimated $44.4 million
Meanwhile, first place favorite Avengers: Age of Ultron settled for third this week (passing Furious 7 in highest domestic revenue in the top ten), and while its estimated $38.9 million is a strong take for its third weekend, it is unlikely to make quite as much as the record-setting original Avengers domestically, though worldwide it will come quite close.
Beyond those three, drop-off was heavy, the second-place finisher of last week, Hot Pursuit, dipped to an estimated $5.8 million and still remains well below $35 million in domestic earnings. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 on the other hand managed to be mildly profitable as an estimated $3.6 million brought it above the break-even point and tied it with Furious 7 (also estimated $3.6 million), though Furious 7 casts a long shadow with $343.8 million in domestic revenue.
Of the last four films on the list, Home (in eighth place, estimated $2.7 million) is the only one that has reported its revenue, and has been a middling success counting its foreign box office take. Of the ones left, The Age of Adaline (seventh with an estimated $3.2 million) has fared the best in domestic box office with $37.1 million in gross, while Ex Machina (estimated $2.1 million) and Far from the Madding Crowd (estimated $1.3 million), which entered wider release this week, with $20 million and $2.6 million in earnings respectively, will have to be banking on low budgets in order to get them on solid financial footing.
Weekend Box Office (May 15th – May 17th)
- Pitch Perfect 2…$70.3 million
- Mad Max: Fury Road…$44.4 million
- Avengers: Age of Ultron…$38.9 million
- Hot Pursuit…$5.8 million
- Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2…$3.6 million
- Furious 7…$3.6 million
- The Age of Adaline…$3.2 million
- Home…$2.7 million
- Ex Machina…$2.1 million
- Far from the Madding Crowd…$1.3 million
Seth Paul
Latest posts by Seth Paul (see all)
- Box Office Weekend: Eight Figure Box Office for Magnificent Seven - September 26, 2016
- Box Office Weekend: Sully Rides High for Second Week - September 19, 2016
- Box Office Weekend: Sully Lands On Target - September 12, 2016