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.
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Not bad at all: Captain America: The First Avenger defied the diminishing returns of this summer's comic-book crop (and its own relatively modest expectations) to claim box-office victory on its opening day. That's not the outcome most of Hollywood expected in the aftermath of last week's Potter-palooza windfall; indeed the boy wizard's final film installment fell dramatically off its record opening weekend pace, with a drop of more than 70 percent foreseen by tomorrow night. Oh -- and Friends With Benefits opened as well. Your Friday Box Office is here.
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Good news for Marvel and the team behind Captain America: The First Avenger: The summer's latest major comics-hero tentpole also had the genre's best midnight showing of the season with $4 million. That exceeds the previous best of X-Men: First Class's $3.4 million and hints at a better-than-expected three-day total near $60 million. Drop by Movieline this weekend for more box-office dispatches as events warrant... [via THR]
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 this week became only the third film to surpass the $200 million mark domestically within five days of release. Not bad! Alas, it left the five-day record to a celebrated studiomate -- but not by much.
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Both political and film-industry observers alike kept an eye on this weekend's box office for more than just Harry Potter's record-setting haul. It also happened to be the opening frame for The Undefeated, director Stephen K. Bannon's notorious documentary about the ascent of Sarah Palin to the national political stage. So how did it do in limited release?
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Harry Potter claimed his rightful place atop the weekend box office, and how: Shattering box office records and unseating Transformers: Dark of the Moon, the closing chapter of the boy wizard's magical saga topped The Dark Knight, Spider-Man, and The Twilight Saga: New Moon as the biggest weekend opener of all time. Cue the celebratory wizard rock jam!
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Um, wow. With effortless ease, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has poised itself to break virtually every opening-weekend box-office record known to Hollywood, with Friday's staggering midnight showing folding into a best-ever $95 million opening day. That far exceeds the earlier record of $72 million set by The Twilight Saga: New Moon in 2009, and sets the Potter finale up for a milestone $180 million (or more) three-day total. Not bad! And still, people saw other movies as well -- your Friday Box Office is here.
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We all saw it coming, and not just because of the lines of cape-wearing, wand-waving fans stretching into half the world's local horizons: The franchise-ending cocktail of anticipation, hype and 3-D also known as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 earned $43.5 million from midnight showings nationwide. And yes, that would be a record. Handily.
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The week after the Fourth of July is historically a Hollywood crap shoot, but studios gambled smartly and reaped the benefits this weekends with strong openings from Horrible Bosses and Zookeeper. Meanwhile, last week's bombastic belle of the blockbuster ball staged an encore at the top of the box-office charts. Your Weekend Receipts are here.
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The summer of comedies continues! Buoyed by a Hangover-friendly marketing campaign and some happily strong reviews, the Seth Gordon-directed Horrible Bosses earned $9.9 million at the box office on Friday to land in a solid second place; if the numbers hold, Bosses will be the fourth R-rated comedy to open with more than $25 million this summer. Fellow newcomer Zookeeper landed in third place, with a solid $7.4 million -- roughly $2 million less than the Kevin James-led Paul Blart earned on its first Friday. That film received a family friendly bump throughout its opening weekend, and you can bet Sony executives are hoping the same holds true for this one. Oh, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon dominated again. Your Friday box office is here.
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Michael Bay's juggernaut of a sequel Transformers: Dark of the Moon didn't just spank Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts at the box office; it handily seized the title of the biggest domestic July 4 opener of all time from previous champ Spider-Man 2 and should hit $116.4M over the four-day weekend for a $181.1M domestic take. On top of that, Transformers 3 is performing even better overseas than in the U.S. of A. -- and it has yet to open in Transformers-loving Japan. Bow to our robot overlords!
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It was never if but when -- and by how much -- Transformers: Dark of the Moons would affirm its bulky, sense-shattering supremacy at the holiday box office. After four days of preliminary evidence, its spacious margin of victory becomes ever clearer as the Independence Day frame tumbles further into history. Your weekend receipts are here.
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All hail Megatron! While Transformers: Dark of the Moon earned "just" $33.5 million on Friday night -- 15 percent behind what Revenge of the Fallen grabbed on its first Friday in 2009 -- the Michael Bay-directed explosion orgy is on track to bank $185 million through its first seven days. That might be disappointing, until you consider the foreign grosses, which are expected to top $200 million over the same timeframe. The outlook isn't as rosy for Larry Crowne: the film crashed its moped into fourth place on the chart, and won't top $20 million for the weekend. Your Friday box office is here.
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Normally, when a film grosses $679,650 on a random Thursday, it isn't very newsworthy. Yet when that film is Bridesmaids, and that $679,650 pushes the film past Knocked Up to make it the highest grossing Judd Apatow production ever, a celebration is in order. So, let's celebrate!
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Despite massive hype, 3-D surcharges, and an actual good movie, it seems audiences were a bit gun-shy about running out to see Transformers: Dark of the Moon on opening day. The Wednesday grosses for the threequel tallied $37.2 million (plus an additional $5.5 million from Tuesday night), down dramatically from the $62 million Revenge of the Fallen earned on its opening Wednesday in 2009. Not that Paramount is too disappointed; the studio is expecting Dark of the Moon to have the highest worldwide gross in the franchise before it explodes out of theaters later this summer. Still, shouldn't this have opened bigger? [Deadline]
