Pitch Perfect 2 sings loud and proud, Mad Max: Fury Road debuts strong

it was a big weekend at the box office, with the top two films both having strong openings. Here’s what the early estimates indicate went down:

As predicted, Pitch Perfect 2 debut at the top of the box office with a fantastic showing, bringing in $69 million, well ahead of the second place film. Though reviews haven’t been glowing, there was clearly an appetite to see the Bellas once again. The film should have no problem making at least $150 million in North America.

Debuting in second place with a solid $43 million was Mad Max: Fury Road. Now, some may say that number is a bit of a letdown, but take into account the fact that the film is the first entry in thirty years for a cult franchise, not a big blockbuster one. Then there’s the fact that there’s no Mel Gibson in the role, and Tom Hardy is not a box office draw. Same goes for director George Miller. Those facts play against making this a blockbuster movie. However, reviews have been solid and word of mouth could give Fury Road legs over the coming weeks. All things considered, this is far from bad debut.

As for the rest of the top five, Avengers: Age of Ultron fell to third place with $37.9 million, bringing its three week total to $371 million in North America. While that’s far off from where the first film was at this time, it’s worth noting that the movie did cross the $1 billion mark worldwide this weekend. Pretty impressive stuff.

Meanwhile, Hot Pursuit dropped to fourth place with $5.3 million, while Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 closed things out in fifth with $3.6 million.

So, to recap, here were our predictions:

1) Pitch Perfect 2 – $65 million
2) Avengers: Age of Ultron – $43 million
3) Mad Max: Fury Road – $40 million
4) The Age of Adaline – $4.5 million
5) Hot Pursuit – $4 million

And here’s how the weekend turned out:

1) Pitch Perfect 2 – $69 million
2) Mad Max: Fury Road  – $43 million
3) Avengers: Age of Ultron – $37.9 million
4) Hot Pursuit – $5.3 million
5) Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 – $3.6 million

Next weekend see the release of Poltergeist and Tomorrowland. Be sure to check back on Friday to see our predictions!