No. 1 ‘Avengers’ marches onward
In 3 weeks, almost $725 million at box office.
LOS ANGELES – “Pokémon Detective Pikachu” gave “Avengers: Endgame” a run for its money this weekend at the box office, but the superheroes managed to hold onto the throne.
Disney said Sunday that the superhero movie earned an estimated $63.1 million from North American theaters, bringing its domestic total to $723.5 million, surpassing Marvel’s “Avengers: Infinity War” ($679 million) and “Black Panther” ($700 million).
Internationally, it added $102.3 million, bringing its global total to just shy of $2.5 billion, where it remains the second biggest worldwide release of all time behind “Avatar” ($2.8 billion).
But three weeks into “Avengers” dominance, the market finally had some room for another film to make an impact. Warner Bros. managed to draw a significant audience to its live-action “Pokémon Detective Pikachu,” featuring the voice of Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu, which earned an estimated $58 million.
“What a terrific result,” says Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. head of domestic distribution. “It’s so much fun to watch ‘Detective Pikachu’ have this kind of opening.”
“Pikachu” notched a record of its own: biggest video game adaption opening. The previous record-holder was the Angelina Jolie “Tomb Raider” from 2001, which opened with $47 million, not adjusted for inflation.
It was a mixed bag for other newcomers, including two female-led comedies strategically launching on Mother’s Day weekend: “The Hustle” and “Poms,” which both attracted an overwhelmingly female audience.
“The Hustle,” a spin on “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” with Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson, landed in third with $13.6 million despite lackluster reviews.
Less lucky was the Diane Keaton cheerleading comedy “Poms,” which grossed $5.1 million in its debut against similarly negative reviews from critics.
“Poms” placed sixth behind the thriller “The Intruder” ($6.6 million) and the Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron romcom “Long Shot” ($6.1 million), which are both in their second weekends.