Box Office: ‘Angry Birds’ Debuts at $39-M
$SNE, $DIS, $CMCSA, $FOX
Angry Birds has “flown” from flagging popular mobile game to movie stardom.
Sony (NYSE:SNE) and Rovio’s animated film took to the # 1 spot at the North American box office with a debut of $39-M, as comedy sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising and The Nice Guys opened soft.
Angry Birds, directed by Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly, beat expectations to take the top slot over Disney (NYSE:DIS) and Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War, now in its 3rd week in theaters. Civil War earned another $33.1 million bringing its domestic total to $347.4 million. Worldwide, the superhero film passed the $1-B mark Friday to become Disney’s 10th billion-dollar offering, and the 19th highest-grossing movie of all-time globally.
Worldwide, Angry Birds earned an estimated $94-M this weekend, bringing its total box office to $150-M. The film cost about $173-M to make.
The marketing campaign started 9 months ago, with Sony creating custom content for social media surrounding major holidays and other events in the zeitgeist. The campaign, one of the largest in the studio’s history, included tie-ins with more than 100 partners, including McDonald’s and Panasonic.
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Universal’s follow-up to its Y 2014 comedy hit, took in an estimated $21.8-M for its domestic open. The pic earned a B CinemaScore rating. The sequel was directed by Nicholas Stoller
The international weekend total is an estimated $6-M for an international gross of $30-M and a worldwide box office take of $51.8-M.
Nice Guys, which stars Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, also had a soft opening to earn an estimated $11.3-M from 2,865 theaters, enough for a # 4 finish. Warner Bros. acquired the film as a pick-up, shielding the studio slightly, but it is a disappointing start for a movie with name stars and favorable reviews. Nice Guys was produced by Joel Silver.
Disney landed with 2 films in the Top 5 as its massive hit live-action/CGI film The Jungle Book continues to do strong business in its 6th week of release. It added another $11-M to its box office total, bringing its domestic take to $327.5-M.
Internationally, X-Men: Apocalypse opened in 75 markets to take in a huge $103.3-M. The Fox film opened No. 1 in 71 markets this weekend, including the biggest Fox opening weekend ever in 6 markets: including Philippines ($4.9-M), India ($3.5-M), Indonesia ($3.1-M), Singapore ($3-M), Thailand ($2.7-M), and Colombia ($1.9-M). It was also the biggest X-Men opening ever in 33 markets.
The Superhero film is open in 64% of the international marketplace, with 2 notable territories still to open: Korea (May 25) & China (June 3). The film hits the US on 27 May.
Have some fun, see a movie this weekend.
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