Sunday, May 22, 2011

Box Office Update: At World's End? Not So Much.

The weekend box office estimates would surely look a tad bit different if the world had ended at 6:00 on May 21. Thankfully, that silliness is now past us, and we can worry about real problems in the world. The summer box office marathon continued with great, yet somehow middling success, as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides took the top spot with about $90 million. It's not as high as the openings of the last two films, but there was bound to be some fourth flick backlash, not to mention negative word of mouth. Yet audiences still took to this film rather positively, as I kind of knew they would. Flash and pretension are two of the most powerful hooks for the gullible audience.

Ruling the holdovers with pink gloved fist was Bridesmaids, which fell only 20% from last weekend's more than modest debut. It has been proving to be something of what The Hangover was two years ago. I fear it will drop when The Hangover: Part II arrives next weekend, but probably not by much. Thor took a more substantial fall of 55%, which is understandable as the big blockbuster slot has now been filled by another. Fast Five fell another 48% as it moves ever so slightly closer to $200 million. All in all, this weekend was an 11% increase from the same weekend last year, when Shrek Forever After opened in first.

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (First Weekend; $90.1 million)
2. Bridesmaids (Second Weekend; $21.1 million)
3. Thor (Third Weekend; $15.5 million)
4. Fast Five (Fourth Weekend; $10.6 million)
5. Rio (Sixth Weekend; $4.6 million)
6. Priest (Second Weekend; $4.6 million)
7. Jumping the Broom (Third Weekend; $3.7 million)
8. Something Borrowed (Third Weekend; $3.4 million)
9. Water for Elephants (Fifth Weekend; $2.2 million)
10. Soul Surfer (Seventh Weekend; $1 million)

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