10: 'Avengers' Takes First Again; 'Hot Pursuit' Disappoints

To the surprise of no one, Avengers: Age of Ultron took first place once again, earning $77 million to take the record for the highest grossing second weekend of all time, which is of course held by the original Avengers, which took $103 million in week two, back in 2012. That's actually a pretty steep drop when you look at that number, though, isn't it? It's true, and even though the movie opened strong, there's real evidence in the numbers that there is less interest in this film than the last one, and by a significant amount. Its legs are not holding up to a similar standard. But worldwide the damage is massive of course, as the movie has already made over $875 million, and it still has to open in China and Japan. That means it's crossing the billion mark for sure, the question now is how well it can compete against Furious 7 (something I never thought would be asked of any movie).

In second place, Hot Pursuit was the only new wide release this week, and it targeted the female demographic and opened with a middling $13 million- reviews didn't help, as the movie got destroyed by critics and is sitting at an embarrassing 6% on Rotten Tomatoes. It also got a C+ Cinemascore, so it can probably be expected to disappear just as fast. The Age of Adaline, Furious 7 and Paul Blart rounded out the top five.

Top 5:

Avengers: Age of Ultron- $77.2 million
Hot Pursuit- $13.3 million
The Age of Adaline- $5.6 million
Furious 7- $5.3 million
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2- $5.2 million

Meanwhile, Ex Machina continues to do well as it sits at number six, just outside the top five and will probably finish with at least $20 million (pretty good for a specialty release at this time of year), and Far From the Madding Crowd is also doing well, as it expanded for about $630k this weekend. Next up it's some actual competition for Avengers, as Mad Max: Fury Road and Pitch Perfect 2 try to see if either of them can take town the superheroes. My money is on Pitch Perfect 2, believe it or not. The tiny movie became huge on DVD a couple years ago, and the new one is primed to capitalize on it with a female audience that actually wants to see it- I think there's a strong chance it'll open in first place next week.

Movie of the Day: "The Incredibles" (2004)

Our next Mother's Day film is really a celebration of both parents, but I'm recommending this as a tribute to the awesome Elastigirl, one of the coolest movie moms and superheroes, who's a part of one of the best original superhero movies ever made. Brad Bird's The Incredibles is one of Pixar's classics, and an early tribute to the glory of the superhero, but centered on the real human emotions in a family of them. Bob and Helen Paar are retired former "supers," who must take out the old cape and cowl when a new villain comes into town. The Incredibles is a sly social commentary that has fun with superhero mythology, and the standard family problems of mid-life crisis, marital and career trouble, and raising rebellious kids. That may not sound like entirely kid friendly material, and that's exactly what makes this movie so funny, and so great. It really is for everyone. And the mom, voiced by the inimitable Holly Hunter, really is one the toughest and most awesome mothers in the movies.

Trailer:

Movie of the Day: "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" (1945)

Our next Mother's Day movie is Elia Kazan's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, from 1945, one of the very few adaptations that's actually better than the novel it's based on. It tells the story of a family at the turn of the century, through the eyes of the 12 year old daughter (Peggy Ann Garner), who idolizes her cheerful but alcoholic father, and eventually learns to appreciate her hard working, determined mother. This film actually focuses quite a bit at first on the father character (James Dunn, who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for this), but Dorothy McGuire plays the long suffering, world weary mother with grit and steel that show the family's survival has depended on her all along. It's she who carries the family's burdens on her shoulders, and she who helps them to overcome them. It's one of Kazan's best films, and a tearjerker if ever there was one.

3 Scenes from the film:

Ed Helms Takes Over From Chevy Chase in the New 'Vacation'

So, I do love the original Vacation, but isn't it striking how this trailer is basically trading entirely on the memory of jokes and clips from the original movie? I know they make the self-conscious references to what they're doing in the movie (ala 21 Jump Street), but does that really make it any better? Eh- maybe it'll be good for a couple of funny moments, but probably the only reason this is coming out is due to the success of We're the Millers a couple years ago.

Movie of the Day: "Mother" (2009)

So, it's Mother's Day this weekend, and with it comes our countdown of movies to celebrate the occasion, and we begin with this South Korean gem from 2009, about a mother who will do literally anything to get her beloved son out of prison. It's a twisted mystery noir from Bong Joon-Ho (director of The Host and Snowpiercer), and a Hitchock-ian thriller that remains completely unpredictable from beginning to end. You will never see any of the twists coming and you will very likely be baffled as to where the movie's going at times, but the payoff is worth every little bit of it, and by the time it's over you won't be able to imagine how it could have wound up any other way. Having a mother this devoted could well be a boon for some people, especially if you happen to be criminally inclined.

Trailer:

Channing Tatum and Pals Return for 'Magic Mike XXL'

The new trailer for the Magic Mike sequel puts the focus squarely on the guys, which is as it should be, I guess. I mean, what is there really to say about this movie, except that, as Tatum confirmed in an interview, it's about giving the fans what they want this time? That means lots of guys on stage stripping and dancing, and probably much less of the drug subplots that inhabited the first movie.

Meryl Streep Steps Up to the Mic in 'Ricki and the Flash'

So, Meryl Streep returns to singing in this new movie (she did that back in Postcards from the Edge, if anyone remembers), but to be honest, this doesn't look all that great, in my opinion. Diablo Cody has kind of proven herself a one hit wonder after Juno, and the last family drama Jonathan Demme directed was Rachel Getting Married, which I'm not really the biggest fan of. But maybe the actors can bring something to it, who knows. It's coming out in August as total counter programming for summer blockbusters.

Laura Linney Shows Up in New Trailer for 'Mr. Holmes'

Yet another trailer for the Ian McKellen Sherlock Holmes movie unsurprisingly makes it look more eventful (this is the U.S. trailer, so even though the film is clearly aimed at an older audience, we have to make it look like it has at least some action in it, right?). Laura Linney also shows up here, so after the announcement the other day that she's joining the cast of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, she'll get a chance to preserve some dignity by having this come out first.

Blu-Ray Pick of the Week: "Mr. Turner" (2014)

Timothy Spall was criminally overlooked for a Best Actor nomination for this, one of Mike Leigh's finest films. An intimate portrait of British painter JMW Turner, this is a detailed, brave, entirely lived in performance like no other from last year, and as usual with Leigh's films, Spall is surrounded by a supporting cast that gives every bit character specific life, no matter how few scenes any one person is in. This is a movie that makes you feel as though you're transported back to this time and living and struggling its inhabitants. An emotional, moving experience that pays tribute to one of the world's greatest artists with a piece of art itself that honors him in every way.

Trailer:

Another Look at The Rock in 'San Andreas'

More disaster porn here- boy does this look cheesy. Although I sometimes have a soft spot for B-grade disaster movies, as long as they don't take themselves too seriously (like Independence Day, which is both one of the cheesiest and most fun). I can't tell if this one has a sense of humor or not- if it's just grim looks and buildings falling down it'll probably suck. Comes out May 29th.

Suicide Squad Suits Up

After getting our first look at the new Joker last week, director David Ayer has now tweeted a full picture of the entire Suicide Squad cast in costume (sans Jared Leto). I guess they're really going for a whole punk rock biker look all around, huh? I wonder how odd this movie's going to be- it seems kind of a strange concept to do a movie about a bunch of Batman villains minus Batman himself (or is he going to cameo?). Either way, WB's superhero movies all inevitably turn out to be messy and/or weird in far more interesting ways than Marvel's finely tuned corporate formula (even if that's because they have no idea how to get anything "right"- at least it makes for more bizarre/unique movies). I'll admit, I'm at least curious about this one.

BOX OFFICE 5/01-5/03: 'Avengers' Sets Record for 2nd Biggest Opening Weekend

So, the news this weekend was that Avengers:Age of Ultron blew away the box office as expected, but in something of a surprise, came in about $30 million short of Disney's own expectations and could not beat or even tie its own record from last time around. The Avengers became the first movie to make $200 million in a single weekend back in 2012, but this one will have to settle for "only" $187 million, which is hardly a disappointment, but may indicate there's a ceiling on this superhero thing after all. Which is good news, as far I'm concerned. They won't just keep getting bigger and bigger, eventually people are going to move on, and I think this is the first sign of that.

In a far distant second place, The Age of Adaline settled for about $6 million, and the rest of the top five were in single digits as well, with Furious 7, Paul Blart and Home rounding out the chart. Surprisingly, with this opening guaranteeing that the Avengers sequel will earn less than its predecessor domestically (which was predicted in the long term), that leaves Furious 7 likely to hang on the title of now fourth highest grossing movie of all time worldwide, which will remain the story for the rest of the year, in my opinion. If a superhero movie can't outgross a car chase movie, that says a lot about the kind of thing the rest of the world likes to watch, doesn't it?

Top 5:

Avengers: Age of Ultron- $187 million
The Age of Adaline- $6.3 million
Furious 7- $6.1 million
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2- $5.6 million
Home- $3.3 million

In limited release, Carey Mulligan's period drama Far From the Madding Crowd opened on 17 screens with $172k, or a $17k per screen average, which is fairly decent, while Kristen Wigg's barely promoted Welcome to Me opened on two screens for a $19k average (this isn't really the time of year for robust specialty releases). Next week it's the Reese Witherspoon-Sofia Vergara buddy comedy Hot Pursuit, and Jack Black's indie The D-Train, but expect Avengers to be tops for a while, maybe the next month even.