Box Office Results for June 3, 2011

This weekend, 20th Century Fox and Marvel rebooted their mutant super hero franchise and scored a top spot launch with the comic book pic X-Men: First Class, which stood as the only new wide release.  The PG-13 film debuted to an estimated $56M over the weekend from 3,641 theaters for a solid $15,380 average.  It was in line with other Marvel super hero films of the same type, most notably 2008’s reboot/sequel The Incredible Hulk, which debuted to $55.4M in June of that summer.

X-Men: First Class also reached about the same number of people as last month’s Thor, which bowed to $65.7M.  The new X-Men was only presented in 2D and lacked any big star names that would attract a broader crowed like Thor‘s Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins.

The new tale that documented the origins of Charles Xavier/Professor X and Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto played to an adult male crowd.  Studio research showed that 58% of the audience was male while 54% was over 25.

Following its record-breaking holiday opening, the comedy sequel The Hangover Part II tumbled 62% in its second weekend to an estimated $32.4M lifting the 11-day total to a hefty $186.9M.  The drop was understandable given the upfront demand for the Warner Bros. film and the fact that it was coming off of a holiday.  The Bangkok-set film is on track to finish in the neighborhood of $250M.

Kung Fu Panda 2, the other sequel that launched over Memorial Day weekend, grossed an estimated $24.3M falling by a moderate 49%.  Paramount and DreamWorks Animation have banked $100.4M after 11 days and looks headed for the $160M mark.

Continuing with its rapid erosion domestically and hefty numbers overseas was Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, which approached the $800M global mark.  The Johnny Depp adventure fell 55% to an estimated $18M for a North American cume of $190.3M.

Kristen Wiig scored her first $100M+ grosser as a lead with Bridesmaids, which still showed fabulous legs with an estimated $12.1M, off only 27%, for a $107.3M total.  Universal‘s sleeper hit now looks likely to reach $140M if not more.

The pair of action hits that kicked off the summer movie season followed.  Paramount and Marvel’s Thor dropped 56% to an estimated $4.2M while Universal’s Fast Five grabbed an estimated $3.2M falling 49%.  Totals are now $169.1M domestic and $427.1M worldwide for the super hero flick and $202.1M and $568.6M for the street car sequel.

Still doing stellar business in limited release was Woody Allen‘s indie comedy Midnight in Paris, which is expanding nicely with an estimated $2.9M from 147 playdates.  The Sony Classics film averaged $19,837 and raised its sum to $6.9M with many more markets yet to open.

Wedding comedies that have been side-by-side on the charts rounded out the top ten.  Stage 6 and Our Stories‘ Jumping the Broom grossed an estimated $865,000, down 53%, while Something Borrowed fell 55% to an estimated $835,000 for Warner Bros. and Alcon.  Cumes are $35.9M and $36.7M, respectively.

Opening to good results in platform release was the Ewan McGregor pic Beginners, which bowed to an estimated $135,000 from only five sites for a $27,000 average.  Focus will expand the Olympus film throughout June.  Fox Searchlight and River Road saw a strong expansion for their Terrence Malick film The Tree of Life, which widened from four to 20 theaters for a weekend estimate of $621,000 and a solid average of $31,050.  Total is $1.3M.

The top ten films grossed an estimated $154.9M, which was up a healthy 29% from last year when Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation Studios’ Shrek Forever After remained in the top spot for a third time with $25.5M; but off 2% from 2009 when Warner Bros. Pictures The Hangover debuted at number one with $45M.

June 3, 2011 to June 5, 2011 Top Ten

1.   X-Men: First Class

• $56,000,000
• 20th Century Fox (Fox) and Marvel Studios (Disney)

2.   The Hangover Part II

• $32,445,000
• Warner Bros. Pictures (Time Warner)

3.   Kung Fu Panda 2

• $24,300,000
• a Paramount release (Viacom)
• DreamWorks Animation Studios (DreamWorks SKG)

4.   Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

• $18,010,000
• Walt Disney Pictures (Disney) and Jerry Bruckheimer Films

5.   Bridesmaids

• $12,128,000
• Universal Pictures (NBC Universal) and Apatow Productions

6.   Thor

• $4,200,000
• a Paramount release (Viacom)
• Marvel Studios (Disney)

7.   Fast Five

• $3,244,000
• Universal Pictures (NBC Universal)

8.   Midnight in Paris

• $2,916,000
• Sony Pictures Classics (Sony)

9.   Jumping the Broom

• $865,000
• Stage 6 Films (Sony) and Our Stories Films (The Weinstein Company)

10. Something Borrowed

• $835,000
• a Warner Bros. release (Time Warner)
• Alcon Entertainment

June 4, 2010 to June 6, 2010 Top Ten

1.   Shrek Forever After

• $25,486,000
• a Paramount release (Viacom)
• DreamWorks Animation Studios (DreamWorks SKG)

2.   Get Him to the Greek

• $17,571,000
• Universal Pictures (NBC Universal) and Apatow Productions

3.   Killers

• $15,837,000
• Lionsgate (Lions Gate)

4.   Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

• $14,019,000
• a Walt Disney release (Disney)
• Jerry Bruckheimer Films

5.   Sex and the City 2

• $12,344,000
• HBO Films (Time Warner)

6.   Marmaduke

• $11,600,000
• 20th Century Fox (Fox) and Regency Enterprises

7.   Iron Man 2

• $7,919,000
• a Paramount release (Viacom)
• Marvel Studios

8.   Splice

• $7,385,000
• a Warner Bros. release (Time Warner)
• Dark Castle Entertainment (Silver Pictures)

9.   Robin Hood

• $5,367,000
• Universal Pictures (NBC Universal) and Imagine Entertainment

10. Letters to Juliet

• $3,036,000
• Summit Entertainment

June 5, 2009 to June 7, 2009 Top Ten

1.   The Hangover

• $44,979,000
• Warner Bros. Pictures (Time Warner)

2.   Up

• $44,138,000
• Pixar Animation Studios (Disney)

3.   Land of the Lost

• $18,837,000
• Universal Pictures (NBC Universal)

4.   Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

• $14,635,000
• 20th Century Fox (Fox)

5.   Star Trek

• $8,310,000
• Paramount Pictures (Viacom) and Spyglass Entertainment

6.   Terminator Salvation

• $8,248,000
• a Warner Bros. release (Time Warner)
• The Halcyon Company

7.   Drag Me to Hell

• $7,041,000
• a Universal release (NBC Universal)
• Ghost House Pictures

8.   Angels & Demons

• $6,550,000
• Columbia Pictures (Sony) and Imagine Entertainment

9.   My Life in Ruins

• $3,223,000
• Fox Searchlight Pictures (Fox)

10. Dance Flick

• $1,959,000
• MTV Films (Viacom)

~ by Matt Whitfield on June 6, 2011.