X-Men: Apocalypse, the latest X-Men adventure topped the weekend, earning an estimated $65 million.
It is on pace to pull in over $76 million over the four-day run. That’s a solid start, but a significant drop off from the $110.5 million that the previous feature, X-Men: Days of Future Past, grossed over the 2014 Memorial Day holiday.
Overseas, X-Men: Apocalypse has made $185.8 million, which will bring its global haul to more than $260 million after the weekend.
In contrast, Alice Through the Looking Glass, the follow-up to 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, which grossed more than $1 billion during its run, bombed with $28.1 million and a projected $35 million over the four-day period. That’s a disastrous start for a film with an $170 million production budget.
Alice Through the Looking Glass” grossed an estimated $65 million from such major territories as Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, Australia and Brazil. The film has opened in 72% of the international market, with France (June 1), Japan (July 1) and South Korea (Sept. 8) still on deck.
The opening of the new Alice is bad news for Johnny Depp, whose star has waned in recent years, its luster diminished by flops such as Mortdecai and Transcendence.
The actor is in the headlines this weekend after his estranged wife Amber Heard filed for divorce, alleging drug abuse and domestic violence, creating public relations headaches for Disney.
Heading into the holiday, some analysts expected X-Men: Apocalypse to debut to between $80 million and $100 million, and many box office sages projected an “Alice” launch in the $55 million range. The competition may have taken a chunk out of both film’s ticket sales, although the movies were pitched at different audiences. “X-Men” was intended to draw men, while “Alice” was designed for female moviegoers.
Analysts believe that the “Alice in Wonderland” sequel couldn’t compete in the crowded summer season. The first film debuted in the spring, when there were fewer major studio releases vying for attention.
Sony’s The Angry Birds Movie took third place in its second weekend of release, earning $18.7 million, to bring its domestic haul to roughly $66.3 million. In fourth place, “Captain America: Civil War” added $15.1 million to its total. The superhero film has earned $377 million domestically, propelling it past “Deadpool” to become the year’s highest-grossing stateside release. “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” rounded out the top five, nabbing $9.1 million to push its domestic gross to $40.4 million after two weeks in theaters.
ComScore is projecting that the overall box office will hit $204 million for the four-day period, an improvement over last year’s $194.8 million, but a far cry from a record.
