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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