Weekend Estimates: Mad Max Caught in Perfect Storm
May 17, 2015
Pitch Perfect 2 is coming out the clear winner of an odd couple match-up at multiplexes this weekend. The tuneful sequel will post $70 million or so at the box office this weekend, according to Universal, the third-best weekend ever for a live action comedy after The Hangover Part II ($85.9 million) and Austin Powers in Goldmember ($73.1 million). As Brent Lang notes at Variety it also shares another record with Austin Powers as a sequel that earned more in its opening weekend than the first movie did in its entire theatrical run: The Spy Who Shagged Me did the same back in 1999. Actually, this is arguably an achievement shared by Mad Max: Fury Road too: its $44.44 million beats the $36.23 million total earned by Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
All in all, this makes for a very healthy weekend at the box office. Pitch Perfect 2 has very solid reviews, and a huge and loyal female fan base. Mad Max has even better reviews, and appeals strongly to male audiences. And, with broader appeal, and still playing in the most theaters in its third weekend, Age of Ultron will earn another $38.8 million this weekend to take its domestic total to $372 million. Worldwide, the juggernaut has crossed $1 billion, and will finish the weekend with about $1.14 billion in total.
There’s even some variety further down the chart with Far from the Madding Crowd hitting the top ten for the first time with $1.3 million this weekend from 289 theaters.
In limited release, I’ll See You in My Dreams makes the best debut of the weekend with $49,340 projected from three locations for an average of $16,447.
Bruce Nash, bruce.nash@the-numbers.com
Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Mad Max: Fury Road, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Pitch Perfect 2, Far from the Madding Crowd, I'll See You in My Dreams