The box office results for the weekend of June 3rd – 5th has the lone newly released, and refurbished, ‘X-Men’ overtaking the top spot. As expected, ‘Hangover’ takes quite the fall, but ironically, Warner Bros. won’t feel it. Here are the studio estimates:
1. X-Men First Class ($56 million)
2. The Hangover Part II ($32.4 million)
3. Kung Fu Panda 2 ($24.3 million)
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ($18 million)
5. Bridesmaids ($12.1 million)
6. Thor ($4.2 million)
7. Fast Five ($3.2 million)
8. Midnight in Paris ($2.9 million)
9. Something Borrowed ($0.86 million)
10. Jumping the Broom ($0.83 million)
Analysis
The theme of many critics’ reviews with regards to ‘X-Men: First Class’ said it was a “return to form” for the franchise. Well, that is statement which seems to be uniform amongst audiences and the lovely critque’ers out there. However, its opening weekend take is not quite the return to form 20th Century Fox was hoping for. Once the actuals are released Monday, the fifth installment in the popular franchise will most likely be the lowest (or 2nd lowest). While that may be a cause for concern for the studio, especially when there was no competition, the rave reviews and word-of-mouth could have this performing exceptionally well over the long-haul. The relatively modest production budget – when factoring in the criteria for a typical summer blockbuster – was $120 million.
Know why ‘The Hangover Part II’ dropped 62% from its opening weekend? People who have seen it are saying, “wait for the DVD, because it’s not as good as the first one.” The end.
In contrast, Woody Allen’s ‘Midnight in Paris‘ jumped up 51% thanks to the slow expansion Sony Pictures Classics is executing with the Cannes favorite. Although its domestic total is a drop in the bucket, if this pattern continues as the expansion presses on, the $30 million production budget shouldn’t be a problem since its worldwide total currently stands at $16 million plus. It’s a Sleeper Hit in the making.
Flop Alert: Honestly, this category could be vacant more often than not nowadays. With all domestic releases receiving an international boost as of late; and knowing how much DVD and On-Demand purchases bring in; most titles should be flush, unless the studio blows their load on marketing.
‘Fast Five‘ currently has the longest streak in the top ten with 6 weeks. Domestically the flick has reached $202 million off a $125 million budget. Worldwide the total is well over half-of-billion.
This Friday is kind of groomed towards the kiddies and the dreamers. ‘Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer‘ are banking on securing the fam-friendly crowd. ‘Super 8‘ will look for people that are waiting for the next ‘E.T.’ and/or ‘Goonies’ adventure in this Sc-Fi product. And as noted above, Midnight in Paris expands in a ton of new markets as well. Finally, The Troll Hunter goes theatrical in select markets. Reviews will be right here my fellow Shockers.
Report by Joe Belcastro
