Several new movies infiltrated theaters nationwide this weekend, from a lighthearted trip to Italy with Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, Diane Keaton and Mary Steenburgen to a Ben Affleck-fronted detective thriller.
But the two top spots were once again claimed by Marvel and Mario.
In its second weekend, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3″ added $60.5 million from North American theaters, according to studio estimates on Sunday. That’s a slim 49% drop from its opening, which is rare for big superhero films that tend to be front-loaded and have big second weekend drops of 60% or more. As the smallest Marvel drop since the beginning of the pandemic, it also answers the ” superhero fatigue ” question that some floated last weekend. Including $91.9 million from international showings, “Vol. 3” has already grossed over $528.8 million worldwide.
Second place went to “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” with $13 million in its sixth weekend, bringing its domestic grosses just shy of $536 million. Families with younger children have had almost no other options at the theaters since Mario entered the picture, resulting in repeat viewings and its continued dominance at the box office, where it is still playing in 3,800 locations domestically. Globally, it’s at $1.2 billion.
With Chris Pratt in the leading positions of chart-topping movies, as Star Lord in “Guardians” and the voice of Mario, debates have ensued about how much of the draw is star power versus brand power.
It was an especially crowded weekend for new movies, opening both wide and limited in all genres and of all qualities.
“The second weekend in May is very notable, traditionally speaking, because it bridges the gap between a big summer kickoff movie (“Guardians 3”) and the next big blockbuster (“Fast X”),” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “Everyone in the business knew Guardians would dominate the weekend but it provided an opportunity for a lot of movies to get out there that hit that sweet spot between two behemoths.”
“Book Club: The Next Chapter ” fared the best on the charts with $6.5 million from 3,508 locations. The sequel, released by Focus Features on Mother’s Day weekend, reunites the cast with director Bill Holderman and his co-writer Erin Simms.
Robert Rodriguez’s “Hypnotic,” meanwhile, is bombing. The mystery starring Affleck as a detective whose daughter is missing cost a reported $65 million to make. It went into the weekend with poor reviews (32% on Rotten Tomatoes) and limited marketing from distributor Ketchup Entertainment, and earned just $2.4 million from 2,118 locations.
Other mid-level releases failed to make a big splash, including Charlie Day’s Hollywood satire “Fool’s Paradise,” which earned $443,140 from 784 locations, and the anime-inspired “Knights of the Zodiac,” which made only $535,000 from 586 theaters.
“BlackBerry,” Matt Johnson’s well-reviewed portrait about the rise and fall of the beloved smartphone starring Glenn Howerton and Jay Baruchel, got off to a bumpy start with $473,000 from 450 theaters.
