BOX OFFICE 6/21-6/23: Monsters Dominate

The two big new releases this week did extraordinarily well, with Pixar's Monsters University scoring $82 million to mark the studio's 14th straight box office topper and their second biggest debut ever, behind just Toy Story 3. The family film should continue to play well with a lack of competition, as it earned an "A" Cinemascore and played 60% under 25 years old. The big surprise was second place though, as the famously troubled production of World War Z had zero effect on its earning power, hauling in a hugely unexpected $66 million. It was helped by decent reviews (71% Rotten Tomatoes) and Brad Pitt's star power, as the film played to 51% women, which is nearly unheard of for an action zombie flick. In fact, it's the biggest opening of Brad Pitt's career, passing Mr. and Mrs. Smith's $50 million bow in 2005.

Top 5:

  1. Monsters University- $82 million
  2. World War Z- $66 million
  3. Man of Steel- $41.2 million
  4. This is the End- $13 million
  5. Now You See Me- $7.9 million

In the holdovers, Man of Steel fell a pretty steep 65% since last week but already has $210 million total and should still cross $300 million. Up next week is The Heat, the buddy-cop comedy with Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, and White House Down, aka Die Hard in the White House, with Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx.

Movie News Nuggets

  • Marvel.com announced today that Robert Downey, Jr. has signed on to appear in Avengers 2 (May 1, 2015) and Avengers 3  (TBD), but nothing on Iron Man 4. I cannot even imagine the amount they forked over to get him to do this, but it looks like what's now become his signature role will be continuing until at least 2018, ten years after the first Iron Man movie. He must be getting tired of this, right? Remember when he did mostly arthouse films and passion projects? Much as I like Tony Stark, I'd sure love to see a return to that RDJ someday.
  • In other superhero news, fans are reeling from the sudden "letting go" of Shailene Woodley from The Amazing Spider-Man 2. Having already filmed scenes as Mary-Jane and been the focus of some of the first set pics released, it was revealed just the other day that she's been cut from the film altogether. The latest is that Sony is reportedly now looking for a new actress to replace her for the third movie, citing Woodley's likely unavailability due to her upcoming sci-fi movie Divergent. Hmmm. Rumors are of course swirling about possible real reasons for the shake-up, and it certainly seems as if Sony is using the Divergent film as an excuse to get rid of her. Unhappiness with the performance, perhaps?
  • Finally, several highly anticipated release dates have been confirmed by Fox, including Dawn of the Planet of the Apes for July 15, 2014 (can't wait!), X-Men: Days of Future Past for May 23, 2014, and most surprisingly, Independence Day 2 on July 3, 2015. Even as somebody who considers the original a cheesy guilty pleasure, was anyone really calling for a sequel to Independence Day almost twenty years after the fact? Anyway, with that plus Avengers 2 and Star Wars: Episode VII set for 2015, that is going to be one mega summer movie season, isn't it?

BOX OFFICE 6/14-6/16: Man of Steel Takes Off

The new Superman movie got mixed reviews from the critics (56% Rotten Tomatoes, 55 Metacritic), but did some serious damage at the box office this weekend, for a total of $125.1 million since opening Thursday night. Earning an "A-" Cinemascore from crowds and playing 56% male, 44% female (a closer gender mix than usual for the genre) it's expected to cross $300 million easily by the end of its run. The other new release this weekend, This is the End, opened with $32.8 million total since Wednesday and a "B+" Cinemascore, which is fairly healthy for an R-rated comedy and is expected to stay strong and finish with $100 million or below, depending on the competition in the next few weeks.

TOP 5 3-DAY WEEKEND:

  1. Man of Steel- $113.1 million

  2. This is the End- $20.5 million

  3. Now You See Me- $10.3 million

  4. Fast & Furious 6- $9.4 million

  5. The Purge- $8.2 million