Disney Entertainment’s Avengers: Age of Ultron remained in first place last weekend with $77.75 million. Without adjusting for ticket price inflation, that represented the second largest second weekend gross of all-time behind only the $103.05 million second weekend take of 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers. However, Avengers: Age of Ultron was down 59 percent from its opening weekend. That represented a significantly sharper decline than the 50 percent The Avengers fell in its second weekend and was much more in line with the 58 percent second weekend decline of 2013’s Iron Man 3.
Marvel’s Avengers: Age Of Ultron (L to R) Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). (Photo: Marvel)
Last weekend’s hold isn’t the most encouraging sign going forward for Avengers: Age of Ultron, especially given that last Saturday’s performance was deflated by that day’s much talked about sports events and that the film will be facing much tougher competition throughout the rest of May than The Avengers did back in 2012. With that said, Avengers: Age of Ultron has already grossed $313.40 million in 10 days, which stands as the third largest 10-day start ever behind only The Avengers and 2008’s The Dark Knight. Avengers: Age of Ultron is currently running 16 percent behind the $373.07 million 10-day take of The Avengers and 10 percent ahead of the $284.95 million 10-day gross of Iron Man 3.
Warner Bros. Pictures’ Hot Pursuit debuted in a distant second place with $13.94 million. The comedy from MGM and New Line starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofía Vergara opened below expectations. The film had hoped to receive an added boost from opening on Mother’s Day weekend, but the film’s potential was clearly limited by poor reviews and by opening only one week before Universal’s highly anticipated Pitch Perfect 2 arrives in theatres.
It was a fairly close three-way race for third place last weekend between Lionsgate Entertainment’s The Age of Adaline, Universal Pictures’ Furious 7 and Sony Pictures’ Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2. The Age of Adaline ultimately had the edge for third between the three thanks in part to its Mother’s Day performance.
The Age of Adaline took in $5.82 million last weekend. That represented a decline of just 6 percent from the previous weekend, as holdovers in general were helped out by Saturday’s deflated grosses, Mother’s Day and the limited amount of new competition. The romantic drama starring Blake Lively has grossed $31.75 million in 17 days.
Furious 7 placed in fourth with $5.41 million. The sixth installment of the blockbuster action franchise was down 19 percent from the previous weekend. Furious 7 has grossed $338.56 million through 38 days of release. That places the film 45 percent ahead of the $233.35 million 38-day take of 2013’s Fast & Furious 6.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 followed closely behind in fifth with $5.31 million. The Kevin James led comedy sequel was down 10 percent from the previous weekend. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 has grossed $58.19 million in 24 days.
A24’s Ex Machina held up very nicely upon expanding into wider release last weekend. The critically acclaimed Alex Garland directed sci-fi film placed in sixth with $3.51 million. Thanks in part to strong word of mouth and expanding into an additional 725 locations, Ex Machina was up an impressive 54 percent. Ex Machina has grossed $15.76 million in 31 days.
| This Week | Last Week | Movie | Weekend Gross | Cumulative Gross | Weeks |
| 1 | 1 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | $77.75M | $313.40M | 2 |
| 2 | N/A | Hot Pursuit | $13.94M | $13.94M | 1 |
| 3 | 3 | The Age of Adeline | $5.82M | $31.75M | 3 |
| 4 | 2 | Furious 7 | $5.41M | $338.56M | 6 |
| 5 | 4 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 | $5.31M | $58.19M | 4 |
| 6 | 7 | Ex Machina | $3.51M | $15.76M | 5 |
| 7 | 5 | Home | $3.07M | $162.19M | 7 |
| 8 | 10 | Woman in Gold | $1.74M | $27.07M | 6 |
| 9 | 6 | Cinderella | $1.68M | $196.27M | 9 |
| 10 | 8 | Unfriended | $1.45M | $30.99M | 4 |
Disney Entertainment’s Avengers: Age of Ultron debuted with a massive $191.27 million last weekend. While that represented the second largest opening weekend performance of all-time, it also represented a notably softer debut than had been widely expected for the film, especially after a relatively strong launch Thursday night. Instead of surpassing the $207.44 million debut of 2012’s Marvel’s The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron had to settle for opening between The Avengers and the $174.14 million debut of 2013’s Iron Man 3. Avengers: Age of Ultron opened 8 percent below The Avengers and 10 percent ahead of Iron Man 3.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth, l to r), Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and Captain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) in Avengers: Age of Ultron. (Photo: Jay Maidmen/Marvel)
That Avengers: Age of Ultron is on course to ultimately gross less domestically than The Avengers isn’t a surprise. But its opening weekend performance being softer than that of its predecessor is a surprise, in part from the fact that Avengers: Age of Ultron will in all likelihood be more front-loaded than The Avengers was, perhaps significantly so. It should be mentioned that Saturday’s performance appears to have taken a hit from the much hyped and long awaited Mayweather vs. Pacquiao boxing match. Game 7 of the Los Angeles Clippers vs San Antonio Spurs NBA Playoffs series and the Kentucky Derby likely also helped take a toll on Saturday’s performance as well.
There is hope that Avengers: Age of Ultron could rebound from its early front-loading going forward. On the other hand, Avengers: Age of Ultron will face tougher initial competition throughout May than The Avengers did back in 2012, at least on paper, from the combination of Universal Pictures’ Pitch Perfect 2, Warner Bros. Studios’Max Max: Fury Road, fellow Disney release Tomorrowland and to a lesser extent from 20th Century Fox’s Poltergeist and Warner Bros.’ Hot Pursuit.
It was a close three-way race for second place between Universal Pictures’ Furious 7, Lionsgate Entertainment’s The Age of Adaline and Sony Pictures’ Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.
After leading the box office for each of the past four weekends, Furious 7 fell to second place last weekend with $6.64 million. The seventh installment of Universal’s blockbuster action franchise was down 63 percent, which was understandable given the debut of Avengers: Age of Ultron and that Saturday’s sports events took a toll on the box office in general. Furious 7 has grossed $331.07 million through 31 days of release. That places the film an extremely impressive 45 percent ahead of the $228.62 million 31-day take of 2013’s Fast & Furious 6.
The Age of Adaline placed in third with $6.20 million. While the romantic drama starring Blake Lively was down 53 percent from its previous weekend’s debut, it also experienced one of the weekend’s stronger percentage holds. The Age of Adaline has grossed $23.38 million in 10 days. With aid from Mother’s Day this coming weekend, The Age of Adaline should experience a stronger third weekend.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 claimed fourth place with $5.88 million. The modestly budgeted Kevin James led comedy sequel fell 60 percent from the previous weekend. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 has grossed $51.52 million in 17 days.
| This Week | Last Week | Movie | Weekend Gross | Cumulative Gross | Weeks |
| 1 | N/A | Avengers: Age of Ultron | $191.27M | $191.27M | 2 |
| 2 | 1 | Furious 7 | $6.64M | $331.07M | 5 |
| 3 | 3 | The Age of Adeline | $6.20M | $23.38M | 2 |
| 4 | 2 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 | $5.88M | $51.52M | 3 |
| 5 | 4 | Home | $3.47M | $158.30M | 6 |
| 6 | N/A | Cinderella | $2.74M | $194.04M | 8 |
| 7 | 6 | Ex Machina | $2.29M | $10.92M | 4 |
| 8 | 5 | Unfriended | $2.21M | $28.75M | 3 |
| 9 | 7 | The Longest Ride | $1.70M | $33.25M | 4 |
| 10 | 10 | Woman in Gold | $1.61M | $24.51M | 5 |
Universal Pictures’ Furious 7 took in $17.82 million last weekend to lead the box office for a fourth consecutive week. In doing so, Furious 7 became the first film to lead the box office for four consecutive weekends since The Hunger Games back in 2012. The seventh installment of the blockbuster franchise featuring Vin Diesel, Dwayne Johnson and the late Paul Walker was down 39 percent from the previous weekend. Furious 7 was aided a bit by moviegoers who wanted to catch the film before Disney’s highly anticipated Avengers: Age of Ultron debuts in theatres this Friday. Furious 7 has grossed $320.08 million in 24 days. That places the film 46 percent ahead of the $219.72 million 24-day take of 2013’s Fast & Furious 6.
Furious 7 with the late Paul Walker (left) and Vin Diesel remained on top at the box office for the fourth consecutive week. (Photo: Universal Pictures)
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 held steady in second place with $14.78 million. Sony Pictures’ modestly budgeted Kevin James led comedy sequel fell 38 percent from the previous weekend’s debut. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 has grossed $43.22 million through 10 days of release. The film continues to run in line with pre-release expectations. Despite poor reviews, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 will hope to hold up well going forward due in part to facing a relatively limited amount of new competition for family audiences.
Lionsgate Entertainment’s The Age of Adaline debuted in third place last weekend with $13.20 million. The romantic drama starring Blake Lively opened on the high end of expectations. That was an impressive feat given that The Age of Adaline wasn’t adapted from a pre-existing novel.
Home grossed $8.01 million to remain in fourth place. The successful 3D computer animated film from 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Animation was down 25 percent from the previous weekend. Home continues to exceed expectations with a 31-day take of $153.49 million.
Universal’s Unfriended rounded out the weekend’s top five with $6.16 million. The ultra low-budget horror film from Blumhouse Productions was down two spots and 61 percent from the previous weekend. Unfriended has grossed $25.08 million in 10 days. While Unfriended isn’t quite living up to its break-out potential, it is still performing well with its cost in mind.
A24’s Ex Machina expanded to 1,255 theaters in its first weekend of semi-wide release with a sixth place take of $5.35 million. The critically acclaimed Alex Garland directed sci-fi film delivered the largest weekend performance ever for an A24 release in its first weekend of major release. The young distributor’s previous high-water mark was the $4.86 million take of 2013’s Spring Breakers in its first weekend of semi-wide release. Ex Machina has grossed $6.83 million in 17 days. A24 will continue to expand the film into additional locations going forward.
| This Week | Last Week | Movie | Weekend Gross | Cumulative Gross | Weeks |
| 1 | 1 | Furious 7 | $17.82M | $320.08M | 4 |
| 2 | 2 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 | $14.78M | $43.22M | 2 |
| 3 | N/A | The Age of Adeline | $13.20M | $13.20M | 1 |
| 4 | 4 | Home | $8.01 | $153.49M | 5 |
| 5 | 3 | Unfriended | $6.16M | $25.08M | 2 |
| 6 | N/A | Ex Machina | $5.35M | $6.83M | 3 |
| 7 | 5 | The Longest Ride | $4.26M | $30.29M | 3 |
| 8 | 6 | Get Hard | $3.76M | $83.92M | 5 |
| 9 | 8 | Monkey Kingdom | $3.44M | $10.15M | 2 |
| 10 | 7 | Woman in Gold | $3.36M | $21.50M | 4 |
‘THE TOWN’
However, everything changed on the gang’s last job when Jem briefly took a hostage: bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). When they discover she lives in Charlestown, Jem gets nervous and wants to check out what she might have seen. Knowing what Jem is capable of, Doug takes charge. He seeks out Claire, who has no idea that their encounter is not by chance or that this charming stranger is one of the men who terrorized her only days before.
As his relationship with Claire deepens into a passionate romance, Doug wants out of this life and the town. But with the Feds, led by Agent Frawley (Jon Hamm), closing in and Jem questioning his loyalty, Doug realizes that getting out will not be easy and, worse, may put Claire in the line of fire. Any choices he once had have boiled down to one: betray his friends or lose the woman he loves.
Thanks Warner Bros. for giving us these tickets to share with all our fans and friends. We can’t wait to check it out!
