'Battleship' takes a hit from 'The Avengers'

Releasing in the wake of The Avengers, Battleship earned just $25.3 million this weekend, half as much as the superhero movie. Projections had the movie earning somewhere over $30 million, so it appears that The Avengers remains the first-choice pick for most audiences. I've heard that people are still showing up only to find sold-out screenings, no surprise given the movie's $55 million third weekend, which is second only to Avatar. With Memorial Day weekend coming up, The Avengers can only stand to benefit from its blockbuster status. If you're looking for an action movie to see, why settle for Battleship when you can watch the movie your friends have been raving about?

The Dictator opened to $17.4 million. Sacha Baron Cohen's portrayal of a corrupt ruler split open the U.S. cultural divide. Paramount reported that the comedy did well in the Northeast and West but performed noticeably worse in the Midwest and South. Young males were the biggest fans of the Cohen starrer. The polarizing humor was undoubtedly responsible for its terrible "C" CinemaScore in exit polls.

The pregnancy comedy What to Expect When You're Expecting earned $10.5 million playing to a mostly female crowd (70%). Women with children often show high "intent to see" numbers but low numbers when it comes to actual attendance. I predict this life-stage movie will do much better in the ancillary markets, and could be the kind of film women pick up when they're actually pregnant themselves.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel went up another 21% from last week to finish with $3.2 million. Bernie has also been having a successful theatrical run, rising 132% in its fourth week to finish with $511,000.

Hysteria had trouble attracting audiences, finishing with an $8,000 per-screen average in five locations. The French-language Polisse averaged $17,000 per screen in three locations, a much more auspicious debut.

During the coming Memorial Day weekend, Men in Black 3 will revive a long-dormant franchise, and the first horror offering in weeks, Chernobyl Diaries, will target younger audiences. Specialty seekers will have Wes Anderson's latest, Moonrise Kingdom, along with the release of the French hit The Intouchables.

FJI contributor Jon Frosch is blogging from the rainy Cannes Film Festival for France 24. Check out his latest post here.

'Avengers' shatters opening weekend record

The Avengers not only broke the record for highest opening weekend, the superhero picture did so by over $30 million, becoming the first film to cross $200 million in its first weekend, for an estimated total of $207 million. First and fastest--that's what superhero movies are all about, and this one received high marks from audiences (A+ CinemaScore) and critics (93% positive on Rotten Tomatoes). People are already estimating that the U.S. opening weekend could mean a $400-500 million domestic total, but the real action will be abroad. Overseas, where it opened a week before the U.S., The Avengers has earned $441 million to date. With a reported production budget of $220 million, and hefty marketing costs on top of that, Disney sank a lot of money into the film. But in this case, even doubling or tripling the investment will yield hundreds of millions.

Whoever in Marvel Comics cooked up the idea of bringing together many of their comic books' biggest superheroes deserves to have their pockets stuffed full of cash. Writer/director Joss Whedon gets points too, for making the superheroes interact with each other in such an authentic way. What a way to kick off summer 2012!

Fox Searchlight astutely offered counterprogramming targeted at indie-loving, older audiences. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel earned $27,000 per screen in 27 locations, for a total of $750,000. The tale of English retirees who end up in a less-than-ideal retirement complex in India was a hit overseas, and it appears American audiences like it too. The talented ensemble THe Acast includes Maggie Smith, who has been a hit among viewers of all ages for her sharp-tongued lines in "Downton Abbey."

The dark comedy Bernie, starring Jack Black and Shirley MacLaine, averaged $17,000 per screen in its second week. At the indie box office, older stars currently seem to be the ticket to higher returns.

The ballet competition documentary First Position was en pointe this weekend, debuting to a $10,000 per-screen average at five locations. For many American girls, ballet lessons are a rite of passage, and good reviews assured that ballet dancers past and present, as well as spectators, would enjoy this Spellbound-like doc.

Kate Hudson probably wishes the returns for her romantic melodrama A Little Bit of Heaven were kept under wraps. With an average of $891 per screen at eleven locations, this is a big box-office disappointment.

This Friday, Johnny Depp plays a vampire in Tim Burton-directed Dark Shadows.

 

'The Avengers' aims for a record opening weekend

There's no question The Avengers (4,349 theatres) will do well this weekend. The super-superhero movie brings together the all-stars of comic books: Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Black Widow, Thor, and Hawkeye. Most importantly, the tentpole has already earned $281 million overseas, where it released last week. The U.S. is no longer the first market when it comes to mega-budget movies, but stateside it hasn't done much to lessen the anticipation or make audiences feel cheated. In fact, the atmosphere online indicates people are more excited to see the Joss Whedon-directed film.

Critics are often tougher to satisfy than audiences, so FJI's Frank Lovece's proclamation that "The Avengers is everything you could want in a superhero movie" indicates the picture really delivers. He praises the "larger-than-life feats" that are "believably and meaningfully executed," as well as the emotional explorations, like "the loneliness of being different," that add depth to the story. Releasing in well-done 3D, along with IMAX, the action picture could earn at least $150 million this weekend.

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (27 theatres) has also released overseas already, where it has earned over $70 million. The British film centers on U.K. retirees who end up in not-quite- what-expected retirement lodgings in India. FJI critic Shirley Sealy praised the talented cast who give the film its "charm and considerable zest for life."

Also on the menu in selected theatres this week is First Position (5 theatres), a "truly exhilarating" documentary about a ballet competition for young dancers, according to Doris Toumarkine. Kate Hudson does her free-spirited leading lady bit in A Little Bit of Heaven (11 theatres), a "tone-deaf dramedy" about her character's search to find love after a grim cancer diagnosis, as described by THR's Frank Scheck. Finally, the exact opposite of a Catholic's vision of The Perfect Family (5 theatres) is on display in the Kathleen Turner starrer. The comedy features her character trying to win "Catholic Woman of the Year"  in spite of her lesbian daughter, philandering son, and alcoholic husband.

On Monday, we'll see if The Avengers breaks the opening weekend record of $169.2 million, set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II.