|
 It's the sixth-highest Memorial Day weekend total ever, topping
the 2011 mark of $103.4 million for "The Hangover Part II." The
top total came in 2007, when "Pirates of the Caribbean: At
World's End" took in $139 million in its first four days.
"Aladdin" is also dominating moviegoing internationally with
$121 million in 56 markets.
"Aladdin" has outperformed Disney's pre-opening domestic
projections, which were in the $75 million to $85 million range,
taking in $86.1 million in its first three days. The reboot of
the original 1992 animated movie -- which generated $502 million
in worldwide box office -- stars Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Will
Smith as the Genie, Naomi Scott as Jasmine and Marwan Kenzari as
Jafar. Guy Ritchie directed "Aladdin," produced by Dan Lin and
Jonathan Eirich.
Comscore's PostTrak general audience survey found that 67% of
patrons said they would "definitely recommend" the film to their
friends. Notably, 39% said their affection for the original was
their primary reason for seeing the film, a high percentage that
reflects moviegoers' love for the "Aladdin" brand and the
characters in the film.
"A very strong 22% said they would see the film again in
theatres -- much higher than the norm of 14%," noted Paul
Dergarabedian, Comscore's senior media analyst.
Comscore estimated that total domestic business for the four-day
weekend was $226 million. That was about $1.8 million shy of the
total for the same frame last year, when "Solo: A Star Wars
Story" launched with $103 million. The top Memorial Day weekend
took place in 2013 when "Fast and Furious 6" launched and North
American moviegoing totaled $314 million for the four days.
"A very solid Memorial Day weekend was led by the
bigger-than-expected performance of Disney's 'Aladdin' conjured
up huge numbers of moviegoers looking for the perfect
family-friendly treat over the extended holiday weekend," he
said.
[to top of second column] |
Sony's launch of horror-thriller "Brightburn" should pull in
about $9 million for the holiday weekend to finish fifth and
United Artists-Annapurna's teen comedy "Booksmart" will open in
sixth at around $8 million. Both were positioned as
counter-programmers to "Aladdin" and finished slightly below
forecasts.
Lionsgate's second session of "John Wick: Chapter 3" should be
runner-up with $30.5 million following its surprisingly strong
opening of $56.8 million. The actioner will wind up the holiday
weekend with $107 million domestically.
Disney's fifth frame of "Avengers: Endgame" will finish third in the
$22 million range, increasing its haul to about $803 million
domestically by the end of Memorial Day. "Endgame" trails only "Star
Wars: The Force Awakens" in domestic gross, with the space saga
having grossed $936 million.
Warner Bros.' third weekend of "Pokemon Detective Pikachu" will
follow in fourth with about $17 million. The family adventure will
finish the weekend at the $120 million mark in North America.
Overall moviegoing for 2019 has hit $4.34 billion as of Sunday, down
10% from the same point last year. The lag is due to a dismal
performance during the first two months of this year.
"Aladdin" is the third biggest launch of 2019, following the
record-setting $357 million for "Avengers: Endgame" and $153 million
for "Captain Marvel."
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
