After three weekends in theaters, “Avengers: Infinity War” is now the biggest superhero release of all-time after making $61.8 million domestically this weekend and opening to $200 million in China for a global weekend total of $343 million. With a global total of $1.6 billion, the film has passed the $1.51 billion made by the first “Avengers” in 2012, and later this week will pass “Jurassic World” to become the biggest summer release of all-time.
Domestically, “Avengers” performed above analyst expectations, which pegged the film for a $55-60 million result this weekend. But the Marvel movie just keeps on chugging with a higher-than-expected $27 million on Saturday, keeping this weekend’s drop-off to just 48 percent down from last weekend’s $114 million total.
Over in China, “Infinity War” posted the second-biggest opening weekend in that country’s history, sitting just behind the launch earned by “Monster Hunt 2” earlier this year. It blew past the previous Marvel opening record in China, sitting 28 percent above the $156 million made by “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” We will have a more in-depth look at this huge Chinese launch later today.
Well below “Avengers” are two new releases, Warner Bros/New Line’s “Life of the Party” and Universal’s “Breaking In,” which had very different outings at the box office this weekend. “Life of the Party” made an estimated $18.5 million from 3,656 screens, scoring the lowest opening for its lead star, Melissa McCarthy. By comparison, McCarthy’s previous low, 2016’s “The Boss,” scored $23.5 million. Audiences and critics have been lukewarm to the film, giving it a 42 percent Rotten Tomatoes score and a B on CinemaScore.
While McCarthy has had success as a lead star with action comedies like “The Heat” and “Spy,” the more traditional adult comedies she has made with her husband and director Ben Falcone have had diminishing returns. “Life of the Party” is the third collaboration between McCarthy and Falcone following “The Boss” and the 2014 film “Tammy,” which looks like it will remain the highest grossing release by the couple with a $33.3 million five-day start and a $100 million global total. “Tammy” was also made on a cheaper budget with $20 million compared to $32 million for “Life of the Party.
Click here to read more.
SOURCE: The Wrap, Jeremy Fuster
Comments