Men in Black 3 Dethrones Avengers; Chernobyl Diaries Melts Down

The Memorial Day frame wasn't one quite worth remembering for Will Smith, who walked away with the holiday's biggest opening almost by default as The Avengers waned — not a lot, but enough — in its fourth weekend. Meanwhile, the week's other wide release suffered a catastrophic B.O. meltdown en route to sixth place overall. Your special holiday-edition Weekend Receipts are here.

[All figures reflect four-day totals.]

1. Men in Black 3
Gross: $70,000,000 (new)
Screens: 4,248 (PSA: $16,478)
Weeks: 1

Will Smith's first summer entry in four years didn't exactly blow the roofs off America's multiplexes — the third installment of the sci-fi/comedy mashups had a $55,000,000 three-day total that basically matched those of its franchise predecessors from 1997 and 2002. But that's what foreign box-office is for: $133 million and counting, giving Sony a $200 million global total that it should be able to build on in the weeks ahead opposite the modest-looking Snow White and the Huntsman and the R-rated Prometheus.

2. The Avengers
Gross: $46,878,000 ($523,563,000)
Screens: 3,918 (PSA $11,965)
Weeks: 4 (Change: -15.8%)

In four weeks, Marvel's blockbuster has settled into the fourth spots on both the all-time domestic and foreign gross lists. It'll take the third spots from The Dark Knight and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (respectively) in the next 24 hours. The Avengers, ladies and gentlemen! There are no words.

3. Battleship
Gross: $13,769,000 ($47,274,000)
Screens: 3,702 (PSA: $3,719)
Weeks: 2 (Change: -46.1%)

Don't let the 46 percent decline fool you; the three-day total reflected a 57 percent plunge from its pillow-soft Stateside debut. Again, though, its foreign ardor persists — not quite enough to make the whole thing worth Universal or Hasbro's while, but hey. At least there's always G.I. Joe 2! Oh, wait.

4. The Dictator
Gross: $11,755,000 ($43,603,000)
Screens: 3,014 (PSA $3,900)
Weeks: 2 (Change: -32.6%)

I dunno, maybe this wasn't the best weekend to be joking around about Middle Eastern despots at the movies?

5. Dark Shadows
Gross: $9,405,000 ($64,888,000)
Screens: 3,404 (PSA $2,763)
Weeks: 3 (Change: -25.3%)

Someone had to finish fifth.

6. Chernobyl Diaries
Gross: $9,300,000 ($9,300,000)
Screens: 2,433 (PSA $3,822)
Weeks: 1

David Poland said it best: "Oren Peli just isn’t a brand. Sorry." Aren't we all.

[Figures via Box Office Mojo]

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