By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
Avengers: Age of Ultron arrived with kapow! results that are estimated at $186.4 million and rank it as the second biggest domestic box office debut of all time. The film also accounted for roughly 82% of the session’s total gross business.
While no one dared to consider an alternative programmer the competition was fierce Saturday night as the Mayweather-Pacquiao title bout delivered some powerful body blows to moviegoing.
In the niche markets Indian imports included Uttama Villain (in Tamil and Telugu versions) that bowed to OK results of $509,000 and the Hindi Gabbar is Back with a $254,000 debut that was slightly less potent. Exclusive newcomers provided encouraging results of $52,400 for the doc portrait Iris at five sites and a $37,200 tally for the offbeat comedy Welcome to Me at two screens. More dynamic was the Hardy bow of Far From the Madding Crowd with nearly $170,000 from 10 playdates.
Propelled by Avengers Deux business ballooned 140% from the immediate prior frame and by 49% alongside 2014 biz. A year ago the The Amazing Spider-Man 2 reboot opened to $91.6 with the second weekend of The Other Woman in the bridesmaid slot with $14.4 million.
The anticipation for Avengers: Age of Ultron was palpable with pundits spurring on hopes of the sequel surpassing the original Avengers’ record breaking debut of $207.4 million. The scrutiny was intense as previews and Friday matinees of the new outing exceeded its inspiration. But it couldn’t withstand the comparably hyped clash of the titans in Las Vegas that inflicted a bruising on a significant part of the audience for the comicbook foray.
Avengers 2 got a jump start a week earlier in 44 international markets that generated weekend revenues of $200 million. Its second weekend overseas added 44 additional territories including a potent $25 million launch in Mexico for an estimated $168 million frame that spurred overseas grosses to about $440 million.
Domestically the film skewed 59% male with a like number 59% aged 25-years and older. Studio exit demos also identified 22% of viewers as families.
The Marvel juggernaut pretty much put a damper on any significant expansions and holdover titles generally weathered 60% box-office hits. Ouch!
| Weekend (estimates) May 1 – 3, 2015 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| Avengers: Age of Ultron | BV | 186.4 (43,610) | NEW | 4276 | 186.4 |
| Furious 7 | Uni | 6.1 (1,850) | -66% | 3305 | 330.5 |
| The Age of Adaline | Lionsgate | 6.0 (2,020) | -54% | 2991 | 23.2 |
| Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 | Sony | 5.5 (1,540) | -63% | 3548 | 51.1 |
| Home | Fox | 3.3 (1,150) | -59% | 2852 | 158.1 |
| Cinderella | BV | 2.4 (1,710) | -13% | 1411 | 193.7 |
| Ex Machina | A24/Mongrel | 2.1 (1,660) | -60% | 1279 | 10.8 |
| Unfriended | Uni | 2.0 (890) | -68% | 2221 | 28.5 |
| The Longest Ride | Fox | 1.7 (790) | -61% | 2115 | 33.2 |
| Woman in Gold | Weinstein Co. | 1.6 (1,440) | -52% | 1126 | 24.5 |
| Get Hard | WB | 1.1 (760) | -71% | 1465 | 86.1 |
| Monkey Kingdom | BV | 1.1 (660) | -67% | 1732 | 12.4 |
| Insurgent | Lionsgate | ,89 (690) | -70% | 1291 | 126.5 |
| Little Boy | Open Road | .77 (740) | -72% | 1045 | 4.1 |
| The Water Diviner | WB | .64 (2,010) | -47% | 320 | 2.3 |
| Uttama Villain | Prime Media | .51 (3,490) | NEW | 146 | 0.6 |
| American Sniper | WB | .41 (980) | 10% | 422 | 348.8 |
| While We’re Young | A24/Elevation | .39 (1,040) | -64% | 374 | 6.4 |
| Clouds of Sils Maria | IFC | .27 (1,570) | 21% | 173 | 1 |
| Gabbar is Back | Eros | .25 (2,370) | NEW | 107 | 0.25 |
| Kingsman: The Secret Service | Fox | .18 (580) | -67% | 316 | 126.9 |
| Danny Collins | Bleecker/Elevation | .17 (840) | -61% | 204 | 5.1 |
| Far From the Madding Crowd | Searchlight | .17 (16,6340) | NEW | 10 | 0.17 |
| True Story | Fox Searchlight | .16 (550) | -86% | 296 | 4.4 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $222.10 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | 49% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | 140% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Dior and I | Orchard | .14 (1,360) | -2% | 101 | 0.48 |
| Auriele Laflamme – les pieds sur terre | Telefiction | .11 (1,850) | -45% | 61 | 0.38 |
| The Salt of the Earth | Sony Classics | 82,700 (1,030) | -22% | 80 | 0.68 |
| Wild Tales | Sony Classics | 60,900 (1,320) | -34% | 46 | 2.6 |
| Iris | Magnolia | 52,400 (10,480) | 5 | 0.05 | |
| Brotherly Love | FreeStyle | 51,500 (460) | -78% | 113 | 0.38 |
| Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck | HBO | 39,400 (13,130) | -72% | 3 | 0.24 |
| Welcome to Me | Alchemy | 37,200 (18,600) | 2 | 0.04 | |
| Ride | Screen Media | 4,700 (2,350) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Preggoland | Mongrel | 3,900 (980) | 4 | 0.01 | |
| Any Day | Gravitas | 2,300 (210) | 11 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (January 1 – April 30, 2015) | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Box Office | Market Share | |||
| Warner Bros. (11) | 639.6 | 19.30% | |||
| Universal (10) | 633.5 | 19.20% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (12) | 478.1 | 14.40% | |||
| Buena Vista (9) | 369.2 | 11.20% | |||
| Paramount (7) | 275.8 | 8.30% | |||
| Lionsgate (8) | 183.1 | 5.50% | |||
| Weinstein Co. (9) | 181.5 | 5.50% | |||
| Sony (7) | 174.2 | 5.30% | |||
| Fox Searchlight (4) | 72.9 | 2.20% | |||
| Relativity (6) | 71.5 | 2.20% | |||
| Sony Classics (10) | 40.5 | 1.20% | |||
| CBS (1) | 33.9 | 1.00% | |||
| Open Road (3) | 19.6 | 0.60% | |||
| FreeStyle (3) | 19.4 | 0.60% | |||
| A24 (3) | 16.1 | 0.50% | |||
| Other * (134) | 99.1 | 3.00% | |||
| 3308 | 100% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.45% | |||||
| Top Domestic Grossers (January 1 – April 30, 2015) | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Box Office | |||
| American Sniper * | WB | 347,088,249 | |||
| Furious 7 | Uni | 324,424,355 | |||
| Cinderella | BV | 191,293,370 | |||
| Fifty Shades of Grey | Uni | 166,104,010 | |||
| SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water | Par | 162,146,814 | |||
| Home | Fox | 154,832,277 | |||
| Kingsman: The Secret Service | Fox | 126,674,860 | |||
| Insurgent | Lionsgate | 125,567,024 | |||
| Taken 3 | Fox | 89,211,680 | |||
| Get Hard | WB | 85,018,009 | |||
| Paddington | Weinstein Co. | 75,634,921 | |||
| The Imitation Game * | Weinstein/Elevation | 71,150,607 | |||
| The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies * | WB | 65,570,462 | |||
| The Wedding Ringer | Sony | 64,587,373 | |||
| Into the Woods | BV | 63,940,268 | |||
| Focus | WB | 53,811,491 | |||
| Unbroken * | Uni | 53,341,730 | |||
| Selma * | Par | 50,872,921 | |||
| Jupiter Ascending | WB | 47,340,105 | |||
| Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 | Sony | 45,636,396 | |||
| * does not include 2014 box office | |||||
