It's fitting that on the weekend of Comic-Con, a comic book character took the top spot at the box office. In what could be considered a bit of an upset -- though not really a huge upset -- Captain America: First Avenger easily defeated Harry Potter to win the weekend crown. It wasn't all bad news for the Boy Who Lived: The Deathly Hallows Part 2 grabbed runner-up honors, and continued to plow forward on its way to becoming the biggest hit of 2011. And, hey: Friends with Benefits didn't do too bad either! Your weekend receipts have arrived.
1. Captain America: First Avenger
Gross: $65,827,000 (new)
Screens: 3,715 (PSA: $17,719)
Weeks: 1
Based on Sunday estimates, Captain America: First Avenger enjoyed the most lucrative opening weekend of any superhero movie released this summer; First Avenger earned roughly $100,000 more than the Marvel Studios production of Thor did back in May. Whether or not that number holds up is a matter for final box office results on Monday morning, but even if Thor retains the superhero crown, don't sleep on Captain America's success. In a more competitive frame, the Joe Johnston-directed film played on 240 less screens and still had a per screen average of nearly $1,000 more. Plus, 3-D was less of a factor in its success than it was for Thor -- 60 percent for the God of Thunder to 40 percent for Cap. Not bad! Also in the film's favor: First Avenger is the last superhero film of the summer, meaning positive word-of-mouth could lead to continued success.
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Gross: $48,065,000 ($274,182,000)
Screens: 4,375 (PSA: $10,986)
Weeks: 2 (change: -71.6%)
What do Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters have in common? They both crumbled 71.6 percent during the second weekend of their release. Otherwise, not much else. Despite the herculean fall, The Deathly Hallows has still earned the second most money of all time after ten days, behind only The Dark Knight. Worldwide, HP is up to $834 million, meaning it should close in on $1 billion by the time it leaves theaters. That kind of scratch buys a lot of dress robes.
3. Friend With Benefits
Gross: $18,500,000 (new)
Screens: 2,926 (PSA: $6,323)
Weeks: 1
Since Friends with Benefits and No Strings Attached are basically the same movie -- for reference, FWB is better, despite having the worst first 20 minutes of any movie released this year -- let's compare their opening weekends. Benefits opened to $1 million less than Strings, but that's really negligible when you parse the numbers; Strings screened at 92 more venues, and only earned $189 more than Benefits in per screen average. Friends with Benefits also opened against Captain America and weekend two of Harry Potter; No Strings Attached had its biggest competition from weekend two of The Green Hornet. All in all, not bad for Will Gluck's bang buddies comedy, though it did have the worst opening of any mainstream R-rated comedy released this summer.
4. Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Gross: $12,000,000 ($325,789,000)
Screens: 3,375 (PSA: $3,586)
Weeks: 4 (change -43.7%)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon passed the first Transformers this weekend in total domestic gross, but seems unlikely to pass Revenge of the Fallen here in the states. After four weeks, it's running nearly $60 million behind its predecessor, despite similar weekend-by-weekend depreciations and added 3-D surcharges. Internationally, it's a different story: Dark of the Moon lept over Fallen over the weekend to become the biggest worldwide hit of the three Transformers films. Box office results: more than meets the eye!
5. Horrible Bosses
Gross: $11,720,000 ($82,402,000)
Screens: 3,104 (PSA: $3,376)
Weeks: 3 (change: -34.1%)
Speaking of good holds -- how about Horrible Bosses? The very funny R-rated laugher was pegged as a sleeper by Movieline at the beginning of the summer and it continues to make us look good. At $82 million and counting, Bosses should hit $100 million by the time The Change-Up takes the R-rated comedy buck back in two weeks.
[Numbers via Box Office Mojo]