TOP 12 FILMS AT THE BOX OFFICE
Sorry, Max. You just got “Pitch” slapped.
In perhaps the most striking example yet of the growing power of female ticket buyers at the North American box office, the girl-powered PG-13 comedy “Pitch Perfect 2” took in a hefty $69 million over the weekend, streaking past “Mad Max: Fury Road,” which is aimed primarily at men. The R-rated “Fury Road” took in about $45 million.
Going into the weekend, boxoffice analysts predicted the films would finish neck and neck. But women — historically overlooked by studios in the summer movie season — proved to be the more reliable audience. Crowds for “Pitch Perfect 2” were 75 percent female; “Fury Road” played to audiences that were 70 percent male.
Universal scheduled “Pitch Perfect 2” in the competitive May corridor — the first movie was released in sleepy October — with some trepidation. “Pitch Perfect” was only a modest box-office performer in 2012, collecting $65 million over its entire domestic run. But Universal was encouraged by huge “Pitch Perfect” viewing on videoon-demand services and DVD; consumers eventually found it. A hit soundtrack also helped.
1.
PITCH PERFECT 2,
Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and the rest of the Barden Bellas are back for this delightful sequel to the 2012 hit. Now the Bellas are seniors, trying to live down a public embarrassment by winning an international a capella championship. This is one of the most likable films of the season. (PG-13) 115 minutes — Mick LaSalle
$69.2 million; 1 week 2.
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, Artful touches and a cleverly imagined future world lift this film somewhat, but the bottom line is that it’s pretty much a two-hour chase scene, with lots of fake-looking special effects. If that sounds great to you, here’s your ticket. (R) 121 minutes — M.L.
$45.4 million; 1 week 3. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, It’s long, loud, stuffed with special effects and sporadically witty, and it sets up events for yet another sequel. What it doesn’t have is any sense of going above and beyond. Unlike some other entries in the Marvel universe — the first “Iron Man,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Guardians of the Galaxy” or even the original “Avengers” — it doesn’t transcend its boundaries. Fans of the franchise will be pleased, but those looking in from the outside of comic-book culture may find themselves also looking at their watches. (PG-13) 141 minutes — Cary Darling, Fort Worth StarTelegram $38.9 million; $372 million; 3 weeks
4. HOT PURSUIT,
Every single funny moment in this film — about a by-the-book cop (Reese Witherspoon) transporting a drug dealer’s widow (Sofia Vergara) into witness protection — was in the trailer. What’s left is a tonally discordant, seriously unfunny movie that overstays its welcome, even with a run time of less than an hour and a half. (PG-13) 87 minutes — M.L. $5.7 million; $23.4 million; 2 weeks
5.
FURIOUS 7,
Co-star Paul Walker died midway through the filming of this seventh installment of the action series, but the filmmakers decided to reanimate him in several scenes, and the result is just creepy. The action comes nonstop, but the spirit is gone, and when the movie isn’t creepy, it’s dull — and long. (PG-13) 137 minutes — M.L. $3.6 million; $343.8 million; 7 weeks 6. PAUL BLART: MALL COP 2, This sequel is even more of a kids’ movie than the 2009 original — slapstick and sight gags built around a clueless plump lump. The kids deserve better than this unfunny stuff. (PG) 94 minutes — Roger Moore, Tribune News Service $3.5 million; $62.9 million; 5 weeks
7.
THE AGE OF ADALINE,
A fascinating concept — a woman stops aging at age 29 and looks like Blake Lively at 107 years old — is given weak treatment in this unimaginative movie. The script is unadventurous and unconvincing, and Lively is not actress enough to survive it. Harrison Ford shows up in the movie’s middle and provides some fun as Adaline’s long-lost love, but he can’t save it. (PG-13) 113 minutes — M.L.
$3.1 million; $37 million; 4 weeks
8.
HOME,
A race of fraidy-cat aliens takes over Earth in this animated feature. The film should entertain small fry, but this is among DreamWorks’ weaker efforts. Steve Martin gets off a few nice riffs as the aliens’ leader, and there’s also voice work from Rihanna and Jim Parsons. (PG) 94 minutes — Walter Addiego $2.5 million; $165.5 million; 8 weeks
9.
EX MACHINA,
There are lots of sci-fi movies but few like this one, with intelligent things to say about science itself — in this case, artificial intelligence. Domhnall Gleeson stars as an employee who gets to stay for a week at the home of his employer, an eccentric billionaire tech entrepreneur, played with charm and an edge of menace by Oscar Isaac. (R) 110 minutes — M.L. $2.1 million; $19.6 million; 6 weeks 10. FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD, The casting of Carey Mulligan as a woman of such appeal that every man she meets falls in love with her — a role previously played by Julie Christie — deflates much of the passion in this tale of a woman landowner juggling a series of suitors in the late 19th century. It’s not bad, but not fully realized. (PG-13) 118 minutes — M.L. $1.2 million; $2.6 million; 3 weeks
11.
WOMAN IN GOLD,
This eager-to-please film — about a feisty Jewish woman trying to reclaim a painting stolen by the Nazis — proves that the formidable Helen Mirren can provide interesting nuances even in a story where few exist. (PG-13) 110 minutes — David Lewis $1.2 million; $28.9 million; 7 weeks
12.
CINDERELLA,
Kenneth Branagh retells the old story with most of the fairy-tale magic left intact but with the addition of a back story and realistic motives. Every old and familiar element is done beautifully. But the movie grinds down in plot details. (PG) 112 minutes — M.L. $631,608 million; $197.2 million; 10 weeks