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 Disney and Marvel's comic book adventure has made $312.9
million domestically since debuting stateside ten days ago. That
massive figure makes it the second fastest film to clear $300
million domestically, and its sophomore weekend is the second
biggest in movie history, surpassing "Avatar's" $75.6 million
haul.
The film "Avengers: Age of Ultron" trails on both counts? Its
predecessor, 2012's "Marvel's The Avengers," which had earned
$373 million at a similar point in its run after scoring a $103
million second weekend.
"It's a dominant force," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media
analyst at Rentrak. "These second weekend numbers would be a
great opening weekend debut for a lot of films."
Internationally, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" picked up $68
million, pushing the film to $875.3 million globally. Given that
major markets such as China and Japan are still left to open and
domestic audiences continue to embrace the film, "Avengers: Age
of Ultron" should have no trouble becoming the second 2015
release to clear $1 billion globally, behind "Furious 7."
With Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, and the rest of the super
team dominating ticket sales, Warner Bros.' "Hot Pursuit" landed
with a thud, picking up a frosty $13.3 million opening from
3,003 locations. The Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara retread
of "The Heat" was crippled by withering reviews, with its debut
falling short of projections that pegged an opening of $18
million or higher. It's also on the low-end of Witherspoon's
recent bows for more commercial fare such as "Water for
Elephants" ($16.8 million debut) and "This Means War" ($17.4
million debut).
"Given our expectations it was a little lighter than we had
hoped for," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. distribution
executive vice president.
He argued the negative critical reaction took a toll.
"Where we did business, we way over-indexed in the South and in
the small towns," said Goldstein. "We were lighter in the East
in review-driven markets."
The film about an anal retentive cop (Witherspoon) trying to
protect a drug boss' widow (Vergara) was also backed by
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Witherspoon's Pacific Standard
production company. "Hot Pursuit" attracted an audience that was
62% female and 82% over 25 years old.
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Beyond the modest debut number, a C+ CinemaScore means word-of-mouth
will be of the cautionary variety. The budget was a relatively
economical $35 million, but the film will struggle to become
profitable without a much warmer reception in foreign territories.
In third place, Lionsgate's "The Age of Adeline" earned roughly $5.6
million, dropping 10% from its previous haul and bringing its total
to $31.5 million.
Universal's "Furious 7" slid into fourth place with $5.2 million
pushing its domestic total to $338.4 million after six weeks in
theaters. Globally, the action sequel has earned $1.5 billion.
Sony's "Paul Blart Mall Cop 2" snagged fifth place with just under
$5.2 million, bringing its domestic total to $58.1 million.
A24 continued to expand "Ex Machina," moving it from 1,279 theaters
to 2,004 locations where it earned $3.5 million. The twisty sci-fi
thriller has made $15.7 million during its theatrical run.
Among art house titles, IFC Films released the Jack Black/James
Marsden high school reunion comedy "The D Train" on 1,009 screens
where it did a mediocre $469,185. Fox Searchlight tried to
capitalize on the Mother's Day holiday, moving from 10 to 99
theaters and pulling in $760,721 in the process. The adaptation of
Thomas Hardy's classic novel has earned $1 million since debuting
last week.
Despite the presence of Earth's Mightiest Heroes, the overall box
office trailed ticket sales from the year-ago period by roughly 5%.
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" easily topped the second weekend of
"Amazing Spider-Man 2," which made $35.5 million in its sophomore
frame, but "Hot Pursuit" paled in comparison to "Neighbors'" $49
million debut.
Next weekend brings "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "Pitch Perfect 2," two
highly anticipated sequels that should goose ticket sales.
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