Several new movies crept into theaters across the country this weekend, from a hilarious trip to Italy with Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Diane Keaton, and Mary Steenburgen, to a police thriller opposite Ben Affleck. However, Marvel and Mario grabbed the lead again.
In its second weekend, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3″ took $60.5 million from North American theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday. That’s a tiny 49% drop from its opening, which is rare for big superhero films that tend to be front-loading and have a massive weekend drop of 60% or more. As Marvel’s smallest decline since the start of the pandemic, it also answers ” Superhero fatigue The question some asked last weekend. Including $91.9 million in international showings, “Vol. 3” has already grossed over $528.8 million worldwide.
Second place went to Super Mario Bros. It grossed $13 million in its sixth weekend, bringing the domestic gross down to $536 million. Families with younger children have had virtually no other options in theaters since Mario entered the picture, making it repeat viewing and continuing its box office dominance, still playing at 3,800 locations domestically. Worldwide, it’s $1.2 billion.
With Chris Pratt taking lead roles in chart-topping films, such as Star-Lord in “Guardians” and the voice of Mario, debates ensued over how much drag is star power versus brand power.
It was a particularly busy weekend for new movies, opening wide and limited in all genres and of all qualities.
“The second weekend in May is very notable, in traditional terms, because it bridges the gap between a big summer debut movie (“Guardians 3″) and the next big movie (Fast X),” said Paul Degarabedian, senior media analyst, for Comscore. “Everyone in the business knew Guardians was going to dominate the weekend, but it gave a lot of movies the opportunity to break out into that sweet spot between two giants.”
” Book Club: The Next Chapter It performed best on the charts with $6.5 million from 3,508 locations. The sequel, released by Focus Features over Mother’s Day weekend, reunites the cast with director Bill Holderman and writing partner Erin Sims. The audience was heavily female (77%), Caucasian (59%) and over 45 (66%) The hope is that there will be a Mother’s Day boost and decent retention for the $20 million production. Older audiences usually don’t rush opening weekends. The first film opened to $13.5 million in 2018 and went on to gross over $104 million.
Meanwhile, Robert Rodriguez’s “Hypnotic” is a pounding. The mystery, which stars Affleck as a detective whose daughter goes missing, costs $65 million. It went into a weekend with poor reviews (32% on Rotten Tomatoes) and limited marketing from distributor Ketchup Entertainment, and made just $2.4 million from 2,118 locations.
Other mid-level releases failed to be a hit, including Charlie Day’s Hollywood satire “Fool’s Paradise,” which took in $443,140 from 784 locations, and the animated-inspired “Knights of the Zodiac,” which grossed 535,000. Only $586 from theaters.
“BlackBerry,” Matt Johnson’s well-reviewed picture of the ups and downs of the beloved smartphone starring Glenn Howerton and Jay Baruchel, got off to a rocky start with $473,000 from 450 theaters.
Sony Pictures Classics also released its Yogi Berra documentary “It Ain’t Over” in 99 theaters, grossing $106,000.
Dergarabedian noted that several independent films thrived this weekend with strong per-theater ratings, including IFC’s “Monica” ($26,500 from two theaters) and Bleecker Street’s “The Starling Girl” ($27,736 from four theaters). .
“If you are a moviegoer, you have a lot to choose from now,” said Dhargarabedian.
There was also a great deal of competition on the main screens, from Documentary by Michael J Fox on Apple TV+ to Jennifer Lopez’s motion picture “The Mother” on Netflix. “Air”, still in the Top 10 after six weekends in theaters, debuted on Prime Video.
Things are going to get a lot better next weekend when “Fast X” goes in Summer box office racefollowed by the live performance of “The Little Mermaid” on May 26.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday in US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final local numbers will be published on Monday.
1. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, $60.5 million.”
2. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” , $13 million.
3. “Book Club: The Next Chapter,” $6.5 million.
4. “Evil Dead Rise,” $3.7 million
5. “Are you there from God? It is me, Margaret.” $2.5 million.
6. “Hypnotic,” $2.4 million.
7. “John Wick: Chapter 4,” $1.9 million
8. “Love Again,” $1.6 million
9. “Air” $875,357.
10. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” $740,000.
