"Jungle Book" finishes in #2 slot followed by newcomer "Money Monster"
By Lindsey Bahr, Film Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --It's "Captain America's" weekend at the box office once again by a large margin, but even with $72.6 million in earnings, the superhero pic left some room for other newcomers like "Money Monster," ''The Darkness" and "The Lobster" to play, according to comScore estimates Sunday.
"Captain America: Civil War" dropped 59 percent in its second weekend in theaters, in line with the second weekend showings of "Avengers: Age of Ultron" and "Iron Man 3." While it's on the higher end of second weekend falls in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Disney and Marvel film is still performing phenomenally well. In just two weeks, it has earned $295.9 million in North America, passing the total domestic grosses of "Captain America: Winter Soldier" film by over $35 million.
Disney's "The Jungle Book" remained in second place with $17.8 million, bringing its domestic total to $311.8 million after five weekends in theaters.
Meanwhile, the R-rated George Clooney and Julia Roberts financial thriller "Money Monster" got off to a healthy third-place start with $15 million, beating expectations in its first weekend in theaters after premiering at the Cannes Film Festival. The film cost only $27 million to produce.
"We felt like in the wake of 'Captain America,' we could open to $10 million. To open to $15 million in that time frame is really a great number for us and it bodes well for the playability of the movie," Rory Bruer, Sony's president of worldwide distribution, said. "We're very proud to be part of this genre. The adult thriller is not an easy code to crack."
The Blumhouse release label BH Tilt also opened the micro budget horror film "The Darkness" for the Friday the 13th weekend. The film, which stars Kevin Bacon, brought in $5.2 million from only 1,755 screens to take fourth place.
In limited release, distributor A24 also scored big with "The Lobster," a dark comedy about relationships starring Colin Farrell from director Yorgos Lanthimos. The film scored the best specialty opening of the year with $188,195 from just four screens in New York and Los Angeles before its expands nationwide over the next two weekends.
It's a good strategy to launch movies that don't have massive budgets on the weekend after the summer movie season kick-off, ComScore Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian said.
"Traditionally this second weekend in May is not an enviable weekend to be releasing on, but it can be a land of opportunity for films that fill a particular niche, or bring in an audience who might not be interested in these big blockbusters," Dergarabedian said. "It's not competing with all the noise."
The summer movie slate only gets more crowded from here on out. Next weekend sees the opening of "The Angry Birds Movie," ''The Nice Guys," and "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising," before the big Memorial Day release of "Alice Through the Looking Glass" and "X-Men: Apocalypse."
"It was a big weekend, but not the most exciting weekend," Dergarabedian said. "It's mostly business as usual."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1."Captain America: Civil War," $72.6 million ($84.2 million international).
2."The Jungle Book," $17.8 million ($15.2 million international).
3."Money Monster," $15 million ($4.7 million international).
4."The Darkness," $5.2 million.
5."Mother's Day," $3.3 million ($1.1 million international).
6."Zootopia," $2.8 million ($4.7 million international).
7."The Huntsman: Winter's War," $2.6 million ($2 million international).
8."Keanu," $1.9 million.
9."Barbershop: The Next Cut," $1.7 million.
10."The Boss," $1.2 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore:
1. "Captain America: Civil War," $84.2 million.
2. "The Angry Birds Movie," $43 million.
3. "The Wailing," $16.8 million.
4. "The Jungle Book," $15.2 million.
5. "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising," $8.8 million.
6. "Criminal," $7.5 million.
7. "Finding Mr. Right 2," $5.5 million.
8. "Money Monster" and "Zootopia," $4.7 million.
9. "Que culpa Tiene el Nino," $3 million.
10. "The Huntsman: Winter's War," $2 million.
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More