With less than a week to go before The Avengers takes over the North American box office, four new movies tried to make an impact on audiences. All of them failed miserably. Here’s what went down:
Number one for a second week in a row was Think Like A Man with a solid $18 million. The film has already grossed $60 million in North America on a $12 million budget, so this is a certifiable big hit.
Debuting in second place with $11.4 million is The Pirates! While I’d predicted the second place showing, I did anticipate the film would pull in a stronger number than it did. The Pirates! has already made more than $60 million overseas, so it’s North American gross will be gravy, but I’m sure the studio would have liked to have seen a stronger number.
The big disappointment this weekend has got to be The Five-Year Engagement, which could only manage $11 million for a fifth place finish. I was sure this one would debut at number one and bring in a healthy crowd looking for a romantic comedy, but it appears the team of Jason Segel and Emily Blunt just couldn’t lure in audiences.
As for the rest of the top five, The Lucky One wound up in third place with $11.3 million, while The Hunger Games hit the fourth spot with $11.2 million. Meanwhile, Jason Statham and Safe debut in sixth place with just $7.7 million, while John Cusack’s The Raven hit the seventh spot with $7.2 million.
So, to recap, here were our predictions:
1) The Five-Year Engagment – $24 million
2) The Pirates! – $19 million
3) Think Like A Man – $17 million
4) The Lucky One – $15 million
5) The Hunger Games – $11 million
And here’s how the weekend turned out:
1) Think Like A Man – $18 million
2) The Pirates! – $11.4 million
3) The Lucky One – $11.3 million
4) The Hunger Games – $11.2 million
5) The Five-Year Engagement – $11 million
With things so close between the bottom four, don’t be surprised to see a few films flip places come Monday.
Next week – The Avengers. Check back on Friday to see how much we think this blockbuster will bring in opening weekend!
