Even though it's a big holiday weekend, it looks like audiences weren't all that interested in what studios had to offer up on this first official summer movie week, as both would be blockbusters opened under expectations. The X-Men sequel easily opened to No. 1, as it earned about 65 million over the three day weekend and will pull in roughly 80 million over the four day frame. Not too bad, but a big letdown from the 90 million three day opening of Days of Future Past two years ago. Reviews were mixed-negative on the Bryan Singer directed sequel that introduced original X-Men Cyclops, Jean Grey and Storm as teenagers, but the Cinemascore was still a pretty good "A-" and it's doing big money overseas, so this one won't be seen as a total failure, but more a result of possible superhero fatigue this season, at least here in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Alice Through the Looking Glass is far more of a clear cut failure, opening with a paltry 28 million weekend, and 35 million extended, a massive drop-off from the 2010 hit that grossed over 300 million domestic and 1 billion worldwide. I think it's just been too long and interest was simply not there, but reviews were dreadful, and now it has the albatross of scandal attached to it as well, in light of the domestic abuse allegations towards Johnny Depp from his wife Amber Heard. I think this one will have to be considered one of the biggest flops of the year. The Angry Birds Movie held up well from last week, while Neighbors 2 plummeted, and Civil War stuck around in the top five for a new domestic total of 372 million, so yeah, Disney's doing just fine despite this result for Alice.
Top 5:
- X-Men: Apocalypse- 65 million
- Alice Through the Looking Glass- 28.1 million
- The Angry Birds Movie- 18.7 million
- Captain America: Civil War- 15 million
- Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising- 9 million
In limited release, The Lobster is the most recent success, expanding well to land at No. 12 with 725k from 116 locations, and the Sundance documentary Weiner expanded to 27 locations with about 164k, while the indie Maggie's Plan earned 105k from 19 screens. After this mediocre holiday weekend, June rolls around next time with the debuts of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2, the Andy Samberg comedy Popstar: Never Stop Stopping, and the romantic drama Me Before You, so expect those hideous looking turtles to take off, I guess. See you then.
