In one of the most shocking stories of the summer, Men in Black 3 was NOT a humongous bomb. It took $55 million over the three-day weekend (the way openings are normally calculated) and $70 million including the holiday. It was less attended than Men in Black II and cost estimates ran as high as $250 just to make, and up to $375 when you factor in marketing. But it’s already earned $203 million worldwide, so it looks like Jaden won’t have to start pawning his sneakers with his own picture on them just yet. Darn.
For the three-day weekend, MIB 3 opened to an estimated $55 million, which is Will Smith’s third-highest Friday-Sunday debut ever behind I Am Legend ($77.2 million) and Hancock ($62.6 million). That’s not really an apples-to-apples statistic, though, given how many of Mr. Smith’s bigger movies didn’t opened on Friday. For example, Men in Black II opened on a Wednesday and earned $54.9 million through its first three days in theaters. For the four-day weekend, MIB 3 made $70 million, which is a bit lower than Men in Black II‘s $73.4 million four-day total. Adjusting for 10 years of ticket price inflation and 3D ticket prices, MIB 3‘s initial attendance was significantly lower than that of Men in Black II. [BoxOfficeMojo]
Ho hum. Other stuff that happened:
- Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, opening in four theaters over the weekend, broke the record for per-screen average, averaging $130,752 per theater for $669K total. My review is embargoed until later this week, but I can tell you this: it’s got a lot of plaid. Like, A LOT of plaid.
- The Avengers crossed $500 million domestically, crossing the mark in a record-breaking 23 days. It’s expected to pass The Dark Knight today and move into the third of all time, in terms of domestic box office. I just hope all this success doesn’t go to Joss Whedon’s freakishly large head.
- Battleship took another battle-shit (see what I did there???), dropping 46% in its second weekend. It lags even John Carter through the same point. Which seems fair, because at least John Carter was kinda good.
Box Office Top Ten and Fantasy Summer Box Office standings after the jump:
[via BoxOfficeMojo]
FANTASY SUMMER BOX OFFICE STANDINGS:
VINCE:
Dark Knight Rises
Total Recall
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter
BOMB PICK: The Raven: $26 million budget – $7 million opening = 19 million
TOTAL: 19
BEN:
The Avengers: $207 million opening
Men in Black 3: 55 million
Ice Age
BOMB PICK: Men in Black 3: 215 million budget – 55 million = 160
TOTAL: 422
BRET:
Brave
Snow White & The Huntsman
Bourne Legacy
BOMB PICK: Dark Shadows: $150 million – 28 million
TOTAL: 122
LAREMY:
Prometheus
GI Joe: Retaliation
Madagascar
BOMB PICK: Rock of Ages
BRENDAN:
Amazing Spider-Man
Battleship: $25 million
Expendables 2
BOMB PICK: Battleship: 209m – 25m = 184
TOTAL: 209
It’s early, but I doubt anyone’s catching Ben at this point.