The Wolfpack is back and America is ready to party. “The Hangover, Pt. II” debuted to an impressive $10.4 million from midnight shows this morning. The original “Hangover” only found $1 million from similar screenings in 2009.
This handily surpasses “Paranormal Activity 2’s” $6.3 million last fall, a recent benchmark for R-rated films. More startling is that “The Hangover, Pt. II” more than doubled the takes of “Fast Five” ($3.8 million), “Thor” ($3.3 million) and “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” ($4.7 million) and two of those three films had inflated 3D ticket prices.
Even with mixed reviews, “The Hangover, Pt. II” should find between $115-120 million over the five-day weekend. The largest 5-day R-rated opening was “The Matrix Reloaded” which found $139.3 million a little over eight years ago. Depending on word of mouth, however, “Hangover” could challenge “The Passion of the Christ’s” $125.1 million gross from 2004.
“Kung Fu Panda 2” is also debuting today and is expected to take in anywhere from $70-75 million domestically over the long weekend.
Look for continuous box office updates all holiday weekend on HitFix.