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 Universal's acapella sequel earned more in its first weekend
than the $65 million that the original "Pitch Perfect" pulled in
during its entire North American theatrical run. The only
comparable performance is the way that "Austin Powers: The Spy
Who Shagged Me" opened with $54.9 million, more than the $53.9
million that the first spy satire racked up during its domestic
engagement.
Like the first "Austin Powers" film, "Pitch Perfect" put up big
numbers on home entertainment platforms, allowing people to
catch up with a movie they may have missed while it was in
theaters. Add to that the ubiquity of the breakout number from
the first film, "Cups," and shows it inspired such as the
reality series "Sing it On," and it's easy to understand the
surge in interest between the two installments.
"People loved the first movie and it resonated well beyond that
$65 million that the first film did," said Nick Carpou,
Universal's domestic distribution chief. "This was original
[intellectual property] for us and to be able to build on the
first film and expand its popularity is pretty amazing."
"Pitch Perfect 2" brought back original stars Anna Kendrick and
Rebel Wilson, along with newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. It marks
Elizabeth Banks' feature film directorial debut and is the
second highest opening for a film by a female director, behind
only Sam Taylor Johnson's "Fifty Shades of Grey," which kicked
off with $85.2 million last winter. It's also the highest
opening for a first-time feature film director, the biggest
musical opening, and the second biggest PG-13 comedy opening in
history.
"Mad Max: Fury Road" also put up strong numbers, racking up
$44.4 million across 3,702 locations. The Warner Bros. release
capitalized on rapturous critical notices with some reviewers
tossing around words like "genius" and "masterpiece."
"It's a film where there's a lot of applause at the end of the
movie," said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. domestic distribution
chief. "A lot of people coming to the movie went purely on the
reviews. The conversation about it is so strong about what an
incredible ride this is that it's going to propel us right into
the meat of the summer."
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"Mad Max: Fury Road" needed the critical notices, because three
decades separated chapters in the apocalyptic franchise and original
star Mel Gibson aged out of the role/had one intemperate outburst
too many and had to be replaced by Tom Hardy. Moreover, the film
carries an R-rating which prevents teenagers from attending the
picture without a parent or guardian, potentially limiting its
audience.
"Mad Max: Fury Road" has much more ground to make up before it
pushes into profitable terrain. "Pitch Perfect 2" cost a modest $29
million to produce, while "Mad Max: Fury Road" carries a $150
million price tag.
There was a clear gender divide when it came to the weekend's top
two releases. The crowd for "Mad Max: Fury Road" was 70% male, while
the opening weekend audience for "Pitch Perfect 2" was 75% female.
Ticketbuyers for the acapella sequel were younger, with 62% under
the age of 25. It was 61% Caucasian, 18% Hispanic, 9% African
American, and 7% Asian.
"Mad Max: Fury Road's" debut drew a crowd that was 46% under the age
of 35, with 46% of ticket buyers opting to see the desert wasteland
in 3D.
The sequels' strong performances pushed "Avengers: Age of Ultron"
from its perch atop box office charts. The Marvel and Disney sequel
had to settle for third place and a $38.8 million finish. Its
domestic total stands at $372 million.
"Hot Pursuit" clocked in at a distant fourth place with $5.8
million. The critically excoriated comedy has earned $23.5 million
in two weeks in theaters.
Among art house releases, Bleecker Street's "I'll See You in My
Dreams," a bittersweet comedy with Blythe Danner, opened in limited
release to $49,340 from three theaters or a per-screen average of
$16,447.
A24's "Ex Machina" continued to be a solid performer, earning $2.1
million from 1,718 screens and pushing its gross to $19.6 million.
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