'Tomorrowland' wins so-so holiday box office
Houston, we have a problem.
Tomorrowland, Disney's high-flying, sci-fi adventure, launched at the box office with an underwhelming $41.7 million for the four-day Memorial Day weekend, according to studio estimates provided by Rentrak.
Based on the futuristic land at Disney theme parks, the PG-rated movie starring George Clooney and Britt Robertson flutters on the low end of all-time best Memorial Day openings — primarily dominated by sequels, according to Box Office Mojo. The highest-grossing remains Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which sailed off with $139.8 million in 2007. (The biggest debut for an original movie for the four-day weekend was 2004's The Day After Tomorrow, with $85.8 million.)
Tomorrowland, an earnest family thriller directed by Brad Bird (The Incredibles) and co-written with Damon Lindelof (Lost), was met with mixed reactions across the board, earning only 50% positive reviews from critics and a slightly better 61% approval rating from audiences, according to survey site Rotten Tomatoes.
"As Memorial weekends go, this one wasn't a firecracker," says Rentrak analyst Paul Dergarabedian. Despite Tomorrowland's aggressive marketing campaign and Disney parks tie-in, "it just seems that audiences are very reluctant to try new things and stake their money on something that's somewhat unknown."
Still, the movie had been projected to earn $40 million to $50 million over the long weekend, Dergarabedian adds. Plus, sci-fi fare tends to do well internationally, and Tomorrowland has yet to open in major markets such as China and Japan. "People are quick to call a movie a 'bomb' just because it doesn't live up to expectations in North America," says BoxOffice.com analyst Phil Contrino. "Give it a little time to see how it does."
Meanwhile, Pitch Perfect 2 continues its aca-mazing box-office run. The sequel to the 2012 musical comedy sleeper sang its way to $38.5 million and No. 2 its second weekend, bringing its tally to $126 million. The directing debut of actress Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games franchise) has already outgrossed its predecessor's $65 million U.S. total, and all but guarantees a sequel, as newcomer Hailee Steinfeld looks to take the reins of the franchise from Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson.
The female-fueled smash earned 67% positive reviews from critics and 76% approval from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
The weekend's only other new opener, horror remake Poltergeist, was a scream with the younger set, taking $26.5 million for fifth place — a healthy debut for the low-budget, PG-13 thriller. The critically adored Mad Max: Fury Road continued to blaze ahead with $32.1 million in third place, bringing the bombastic action movie's total to a solid $95.5 million in two weeks.
Despite Fury Road's No. 2 debut last week and reported $150 million budget, "it's a movie that people needed to see first before they realized how good it was and definitely not a cookie-cutter summer movie," Contrino says. "Now that people have seen it, it's hitting that 'must-see' status" and should play well until Jurassic World opens June 12.
Rounding out the top five, Disney/Marvel's Avengers: Age of Ultron sucker-punched an additional $27.8 million, landing in fourth and crossing the $400 million mark in the USA.
Overall, box office is down from last Memorial Day weekend, when X-Men: Days of Future Past started with $110.6 million (the fifth best ever for the four days), joined by other high-performing holdovers Godzilla and Neighbors.
Final numbers are expected Tuesday.