There were few surprises at the box office this Memorial Day weekend, as a familiar blockbuster franchise proved its worth once again.
Coming in at number 1 is X-Men: Days of Future Past (read our review) with $90.7 million. There was no doubt that X-Men was going to take the Memorial Day weekend, but whether or not it would break Captain America 2‘s current 2014 opening record of $95M was up in the air all weekend. It went back and forth but eventually, X-Men did not end up taking the title; it also fell short of Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Godzilla‘s U.S. openings. That being said, Days of Future Past‘s opening was strong enough to take the number 4 spot among Memorial Day weekend releases.
It appears the union of the First Class and OT X-Men franchises was a success, as Days of Future Past‘s opening is now the second highest for an X-film behind The Last Stand ($102M). Not to mention the movie nearly doubled First Class‘ $55 million opening weekend tally. On the worldwide front, Days of Future Past is doing even better business, setting records in 11 international markets on its way to $171 million. The film should have no problem eclipsing The Wolverine‘s $282M total to become the highest grossing international X-Men release by next weekend.
That being said, Days of Future Past still has a steep uphill climb ahead as it tries to turn a profit. If X-Men: Days of Future Past is not the most, then it is certainly one of the most expensive superhero movies ever made, which means a successful and deep box office run is needed. For now, though, the film is off to a great start, with $261 million worldwide.
Godzilla is the number 2 film this weekend with $31.4 million. While the movie is already off to a blistering start – having grossed $148 million after only two weeks – it’s worth noting that Godzilla dropped 66% from last weekend. Most figured that, given the film’s surprising debut and strong reception, it would be able to retain more of its audience, but clearly X-Men was too much too handle. That being said, Godzilla is up to a very nice $315 million worldwide total.
The Adam Sandler comedy Blended (read our review) is the number 3 film this weekend with $14.2 million. That’s substantially less than your average Adam Sandler release, which usually opens with no less than $25 million.
For comparison, last year’s Grown Ups 2 – a film that was panned across the board by critics – debuted with $41 million. It’s unclear whether Sandler’s audience is waning, or the competition was too stiff; whatever the case, Blended‘s opening is nothing to write home about.
In at number 4 is Neighbors with $13.9 million. The comedy celebrated the Memorial Day weekend by crossing the $100 million mark, making it Seth Rogen’s second straight $100M grosser along with This is the End. Neighbors has made $113 million after 3 weeks.
Rounding out the top 5 is The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with $7.8 million, which brings its domestic total up to $184 million. With both Godzilla and X-Men out, ASM 2 is starting to wind down even as it inches closer to $200 million domestic. Combined with its huge international total of $489 million, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has made $673 million worldwide.
Coming in at number 6 is Million Dollar Arm with $7 million. Despite a sub par opening last weekend, it appears the Jon Hamm-led sports movie was a decent source of counter-programming – or, rather, family friendly fodder – during the holiday. All told, Million Dollar Arm has grossed $20 million after two weeks.
The number 7 film this weekend is The Other Woman with $3.6 million. The film is now up to $77 million after 5 weeks.
Rio 2 comes in at number 8 with $2.5 million. Fox’s animated flick held a little better than most, likely due to the lack of competition; it’s now up to $121 million after 7 weeks.
In at number 9 is Chef, which made $2.2 million on 498 screens. It may not be the type of numbers Iron Man director Jon Favreau is used to seeing, but Chef has been doing decent business in limited release. Thus far, the film has grossed $3 million.
Rounding out the top 10 is Heaven is for Real with $1.9 million. After a strong run over the past six weeks, it appears this religious-themed film’s time in the limelight is about up. Still, Heaven is for Real is one of this year’s biggest success stories, having accrued $85 million.
Outside the top 10: Amma Asante’s period drama Belle (read our review) continued to expand to more theaters in the U.S. and grossed $1.7 million to take the number 12 spot, bringing its domestic total up to $3.9 million thus far.
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[NOTE: These are only weekend box office estimates – based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales coupled with adjusted expectations for Sunday. Official weekend box office results will be released on Tuesday, May 26th – at which time we’ll update this post with any changes.]
