CinemaNerdz

Weekend Box-Office: Men in Black III Leads Memorial Day Pack

Seth Paul

It was bound to be dethroned sometime, and The Avengers finally found its match in Men in Black III. Will Smith and Josh Brolin as Tommy Lee Jones have been scoring better than average reviews and made an estimated $70 million in box office over the four-day weekend (especially good considering the three-day take was the best opening of all three films in the series, with an estimated $55 million). The Avengers still proved a very formidable force over the holiday weekend, earning an estimated $46.9 million and $523.6 million domestically in four weeks. No other film came close, not even Battleship, which has done well overseas but not domestically…the board game-based action blockbuster only made an estimated $13.8 million and just a bit over $47.3 million in the United States in two weeks.

The Dictator continued to do modest business, making an estimated $11.8 million. Counting its worldwide gross, the film is already a financial success, but on its current track is not likely to break the $65 million it cost to make in domestic sales alone. Nor will Dark Shadows, which is also profitable in worldwide sales but likely to fall well short of its $150 million costs domestically…its estimated $9.4 million on Memorial Day weekend did not add too much to its $64.8 million earnings.

While not exactly garnering any high praise (or a high spot on the list), there is still something to be said about sixth-place finisher Chernobyl Diaries. Like his previous Paranormal Activity films, director Oren Peli found success on a minimal budget, Chernobyl Diaries reportedly costing only $1 million to make. Though he branched away from the “found footage” genre for this one, it debuted this weekend to a rather impressive estimated $9.3 million, much of that prior to Memorial Day. Liked or not, Peli has proven he can make a profit out of very little material, and it still rates better than the year’s last major low budget release The Devil Inside. What to Expect When You’re Expecting has had the opposite effect, having a similar critical reception to Chernobyl Diaries but far less in profit margins…its estimated $8.9 million brings its domestic earnings to $23.9 million, which is still well short of its reported $40 million budget (and it is not getting any help from the foreign box office).

Despite dropping a few numbers, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel is actually up in business, its estimated $8.2 million a massive increase from last week, aided in part by an increase in the number of theaters showing the film…though, like Aardman’s The Pirates! Band of Misfits, is unlikely to be as popular in the United States as it was overseas. Of the British-produced film’s $97 million in worldwide profits, only $18.4 million of that comes from domestic gross.

And talk about longevity…The Hunger Games is still a hit, lasting ten weeks in the top ten and earning an estimated $2.9 million, its $395.9 million domestic totals beating out both Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn in domestic earnings. It even pulled ahead of the comedy hit Think Like a Man, which has lasted a decent six weeks with an estimated $1.8 million for Memorial Day and $88.7 million in domestic take.

Weekend Box-Office (May 25th – May 28th)

  1. Men in Black III…$70 million
  2. The Avengers…$46.9 million
  3. Battleship…$13.8 million
  4. The Dictator…$11.8 million
  5. Dark Shadows…$9.4 million
  6. Chernobyl Diaries…$9.3 million
  7. What to Expect When You’re Expecting…$8.9 million
  8. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel…$8.2 million
  9. The Hunger Games…$2.9 million
  10. Think Like a Man…$1.8 million

Seth Paul

When not failing to write novels and screenplays, box-office guru Seth writes humorous comedy tracks for films under the name "The One Man Band" that can be found at Rifftrax.com. Although, he has recently succeeded in writing the novella "Jack Alan and the Case of the Not-Exactly Rocket Scientists," available as an eBook on Amazon. He is also the English voice of Zak in "Zak McKracken: Between Time and Space."
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