'X-Men' opens with $111 million
LOS ANGELES - A team of mutants overpowered one massive mutant monster at the box office during the Memorial Day holiday.
Fox-Marvel's "X-Men: Days of Future Past" debuted with $111 million beating last weekend's No. 1 hit, the Warner Bros. sci-fi adventure "Godzilla," which earned $39.4 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Days of Future Past" is projected to be the fifth best Memorial Day holiday weekend debut in box office history over a four-day period, just behind "Fast & Furious 6" and above "The Hangover 2."
The seventh installment in the "X-Men" franchise earned $111 million, according to studio estimates on Monday. Fox updated its holiday weekend projection, taking it up slightly from $91 million to $91.4 million.
"Days of Future Past" is the second-highest opener in the "X-Men" franchise after Brett Ratner's "X-Men: The Last Stand" debuted over Memorial Day weekend with $123 million in 2006.
"Days of Future Past," starring a solid cast including Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, Halle Berry, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Peter Dinklage and Ellen Page, is now the second highest "X-Men" debut.
"We were hoping to get a $100 million in four days and we hoped to broaden the movie out to a more general audience, which has come to fruition from a gender standpoint, age standpoint and race standpoint," said Spencer Klein, senior vice president general sales manager for Fox.
The diverse domestic "X-Men" audience was 56 percent male and 44 percent female. Racially, 53 percent of the audience was white, 20 percent African-American, 14 percent Asian and 13 percent Hispanic.
The attention "Days of Future Past" director Bryan Singer received due a sexual assault lawsuit didn't keep fans away from theaters this weekend.
"We didn't really anticipate that it would," said Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution for Fox. "It really shouldn't have an impact on audiences and seeing this movie. The audience reactions on a global basis are extraordinarily high, the best of any of our 'X-Men' films."
Globally, "Days of Future Past" earned $282 million with $171 million of that total gained from the international sales in 119 countries, all of which had the "X-Men" film ranked No. 1.
The projected worldwide box office cume of "Days of Future Past" through Monday is an astounding $302 million.
"This is a franchise that started back in 2000, which predated the first 'Spider-Man' movie by two years so 'X-Men' started the renaissance in the world of big superhero movies," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker Rentrak.
Warner Bros. sci-fi monster smash "Godzilla" dropped to No. 2, but landed solidly with $39.4 million from Thursday to Monday.
The Warner Bros. romantic comedy "Blended" debuted at No. 3 with a lackluster $18.2 million. In the movie, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore team up for the third time following "The Wedding Singer" and "50 First Dates."
Though Sandler's "Grown Ups 2" grossed $247 million worldwide, his box office success has teetered over the years. His 2012 comedy "That's My Boy" earned only $58 million globally, while his 2011 films, "Jack and Jill" and the Jennifer Aniston co-starring "Just Go With It" gained $150 million and $215 million worldwide, respectively.
Universal's Seth Rogen and Zac Efron-starring lewd comedy "Neighbors" took in $17.2 million as it crosses the $100 million mark domestically with $114 million overall.
Sony's "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" rounds out the top five with $10 million in its fourth weekend, while Disney's "Million Dollar Arm" followed close behind with a solid $9 million in its second weekend.
Four comedies populated the top 10 with Fox's "The Other Woman" landing at No. 7 and Jon Favreau's "Chef," at No. 9.
In 2013, Memorial Day weekend was the biggest grossing weekend of the year with $314.2 million over the four-day holiday that saw "Fast & Furious 6," "The Hangover Part III" and the animated "Epic" debut. This holiday weekend is estimated to be down 27 percent from last year.
"This year it will be more like $230 million," said Dergarabedian, who notes that next year has a shot at being a record-breaking Memorial weekend due to the debut of Marvel's "Avengers" sequel "Avengers: Age of Ultron."
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Tuesday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released on Tuesday.
1."X-Men: Days of Future Past," $111 million ($171 million international).
2."Godzilla," $39.4 million.
3."Blended," $18.2 million.
4."Neighbors," $17.2 million.
5."The Amazing Spider-Man 2," $10 million.
6."Million Dollar Arm," $9 million.
7."The Other Woman," $5 million.
8."Rio 2," $3.3 million.
9."Chef," $3 million.
10."Heaven Is for Real," $2.8 million.
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Rentrak:
1. "X-Men: Days of Future Past," $171.1 million.
2. "Godzilla," $35 million.
3. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," $11.2 million.
4. "Neighbors," $8.2 million.
(tie) "Coming Home," $8.2 million.
5. "Frozen," $7 million.
6. "Rio 2," $5 million.
7. "The Other Woman," $3.8 million.
8. "Qu'est ce qu'on a fait au Bon Dieu?!," $3.6 million.
9. "Obsessed," $2.2 million
10. "Blended," $2.1 million.