Weekend Estimates: Men in Black Finally Topples Avengers
May 27, 2012
The Avengers vice-like grip on the top reaches of the box office chart will finally be loosened, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. Men in Black 3 is set for a 3-day haul of about $55 million according to Sony Pictures, which will comfortably give it the crown over Avengers' fourth weekend $37 million. The superhero pic will pass $500 million in the process and set a new record as the fastest film to reach that landmark, ahead of Avatar's 32 days.
This weekend's other new wide release, Chernobyl Diaries got a little lost in the fray and will earn $8 million over three days. That's not a disaster for the moderately-budgeted film, but leaves it in fifth place, and its per theater average of around $3,300 means it want stay in theaters for long.
Creating a huge splash in limited release, Moonrise Kingdom will post an opening of $520,000 or so from just four theaters, for an extraordinary per theater average of $130,000. That might just give it an all-time record average for a non-Disney film: Dreamgirls currently has that honor with an average of $126,317 in three theaters during its opening weekend back in 2006.
If Moonrise Kingdom hadn't shown up this weekend, the $25,000 per theater debut of The Intouchables would be garnering the headlines. That's a very impressive number for a foreign language film. The other notable art house success this weekend is another 97% increase in weekend box office for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which has now picked up $16.5 million in box office in four weeks and will be fighting Moonrise Kingdom for theater space for the next couple of months.
Bruce Nash bruce.nash@the-numbers.com
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Men in Black 3, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, Les Intouchables, Chernobyl Diaries