Another week, another win
Although still No. 1, ‘ Batman v Superman’ takes a bigger- thanexpected dive in its second weekend.
It’s the top box- off ice earner, but “Batman v Superman” fails to meet expectations.
Warner Bros.’ “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” f lew high atop the box office for a second weekend in a row, but there could be trouble in Metropolis and Gotham.
The DC Comics f ilm pulled in an estimated $ 52.4 million in the U. S. and Canada in its second weekend in release, well below analyst expectations of $ 60 million to $ 65 million. That is a 68% week- to- week drop in sales. Typically, major franchise f ilms do post steep secondweek drops, partly because most hard- core fans f lock to theaters when movies debut. But expectations for “BvS” were more around the industry average of 60%.
Last year’s hit “Furious 7” and 2012’ s “The Dark Knight Rises,” for example, both dropped about 60% week to week. Granted, they each received an “A” grade from audiences, according to polling f irm CinemaScore. “BvS,” comparatively, received an average grade of “B.”
Fan turnout may have slowed more than normal because of the overwhelmingly negative reviews by movie critics and poor word of mouth. According to Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ executive vice president of distribution, however, the decline was part of the stu- dio’s distribution plan.
In addition to the film being released on Easter weekend, screenings began earlier on the Thursday opening night — at 6 as opposed to the typical 9. This allowed for two showings instead of just one, which alone brought in $ 27.7 million. Such numbers helped the f ilm set its record- breaking $ 166- million debut.
“By doing such massive numbers, the following week you’re going to have to take a drop,” Goldstein said. That’s why the studio’s secondweek projections were between $ 50 million and $ 55 million, he added. Not only did they expect it to drop but they also anticipated the lack of direct competition after the holiday to bode well.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore, agreed with Goldstein’s assessment, saying that it shouldn’t draw too much alarm. “On the surface, it looks like a bigger than normal drop, but when you dig deeper, it’s about on par when [ f ilms like this] open so big,” he said. “The bigger they open, the harder it is for them to retain the momentum.”
Dergarabedian added that it was only ref lective of the holiday bump in sales being absent. Additionally, he said, with the international market holding the lion’s share of the film’s gross, whatever effect negative U. S. critic reviews may be having, the international gross makes up for it.
The Zack Snyder- directed action movie, starring Ben Aff leck and Henry Cavill, has an estimated $ 681.3- million global gross. “Batman v Superman,” which cost $ 250 million to make, sets up Warner Bros. well for movies based on DC Comics characters to compete globally with Disney’s Marvel Studios. Upcoming DC f ilms include “Suicide Squad,” “Wonder Woman,” “Justice League” and “Aquaman.”
Disney’s “Zootopia” took second place, pulling in $ 20 million in its f ifth week. The animated picture boasts a cumulative domestic gross of $ 275.9 million. It also now stands as the 12th- highestgrossing animated release globally with $ 787.6 million.
In third place was Universal’s “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.” In its second week, the follow- up to Nia Vardalos’ 2002 surprise hit pulled in $ 11.1 million in the U. S. and Canada. That brings the film’s gross to $ 36.5 million.
New release “God’s Not Dead 2,” the sequel to the 2014 indie Christian hit, garnered $ 8.1 million for fourth place, hitting the lower end of analyst expectations of $ 8 million to $ 12 million. Such a performance is a solid result for the low- budget picture and provides further evidence of the market for faith- based movies.
The original “God’s Not Dead” opened with $ 9 million and ended up with $ 60.7 million in sales — a profitable result for a picture that cost just $ 2 million to make.
Rounding out the top five was Sony’s “Miracles From Heaven” with $ 7.56 million in its third week.
New release “Meet the Blacks,” a low- budget parody of “The Purge,” made $ 4.1 million, coming in below its $ 5- million projections.
In limited release, Paramount’s “Everybody Wants Some!!” opened Wednesday in New York and L. A., and in six other markets Friday. Playing at 19 locations, the spiritual sequel to Richard Linklater’s 1993 “Dazed and Confused” earned an estimated $ 323,000 for the weekend with a gross- to- date of $ 371,000.
Sony Pictures Classic also released the Miles Davis biopic “Miles Ahead” starring Don Cheadle as the jazz legend. In just four theaters, the f ilm, which Cheadle directed and co- wrote, pulled in $ 122,751 for a strong pertheater average of $ 30,688.