When most movies open with hugebox officenumbers on their opening weekend, they typically drop a significant amount in their second weekend.Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicewas no different in its second frame in theaters, dipping a massive 68.4% but still remaining atop the box office with $52.3 million, according to the estimates fromBox Office Mojo. There were only two new releases opening in theaters, God’s Not Dead 2 and Meet the Blacks, but neither came close to surpassingBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Last weekend,Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicesurpassed its own expectations, taking in $166 million domestically and $424 million worldwide, the best global debut for any superhero movie in history. Still,Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicedidn’t fare well with critics. Thesuperhero moviecontinues to drop on Rotten Tomatoes, currently standing at a 28% Rotten rating, but the audience score is still overwhelmingly positive, with 72% of the RT users favoring the movie.Zootopiaremained in second place with $20 million, followed byMy Big Fat Greek Wedding 2with $11.1 million. Newcomer God’s Not Dead 2 debuted in fourth place with $8.1 million, withMiracles from Heavenrounding out the top 5 with $7.5 million.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicehas now become the highest-grossing movie to ever debut in March, breakingThe Hunger Games' record of $152.5 million set in 2012. We reported last week that advanced ticket sales forBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justicewere out-pacingDeadpool, which took in a record-breaking $132.4 million over its opening weekend, the highest debut ever for an R-rated movie. The movie has gone on to earn $340.9 million domestically and $390 million internationally for a worldwide haul of $731 million, with many wondering if it can surpass the $1 billion worldwide plateau.Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceeasily surpassed the Merc With the Mouth’s debut, but, unlikeDeadpool,Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicehas not won the critics over.
Early fan reactions from theNew York premierelast week were exceedingly positive, but after the first reviews started coming in a few days later, the response quickly turned negative. The initial wave of reviews putBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justiceat 40% rotten on the TomatoMeter, a number which has now slipped to 29% over the weekend.Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justicedebuted in 4,242 theaters, which is a huge release but comes nowhere close to the widest release of all time.The Twilight Saga: Eclipsehas held that record for nearly six years, opening in 4,468 theaters in the summer of 2010. The superhero adventure pulled in an impressive $40,099 per-screen average in its opening weekend.
God’s Not Dead 2 opened in 2,419 theaters this weekend, with Meet the Blacks debuting in 1,015 theaters. God’s Not Dead 2 follows a high school teacher who is asked a question in class about Jesus. Her reasoned response lands her in deep trouble and could expel God from the public square once and for all. David A.R. White,Ray Wise, Robin Givens,Ernie Hudson,Melissa Joan Hart,Jesse Metcalfe, Hayley Orrantia and Pat Boone lead the ensemble cast.
Meet the Blacks follows the patriarch (Mike Epps) of a an African-American family that decides they should move from Chicago to a posh neighborhood in Beverly Hills, after obtaining a great deal of money. However, they are soon terrorized by home intruders who want them out of the affluent community in this comedic spoof ofThe Purgefilms. The cast is rounded out by Zulay Henao,Mike Tyson, Andrew Bachelor,Charles Q. Murphy, Bresha Webb, Lavell Crawford,DeRay Davis, Gary Owen andPerez Hilton. Neither of this week’s newcomers fared well with critics, with God’s Not Dead 2 earning a 14% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with Meet the Blacks earning a 20% score.
The top 10 will be rounded out byThe Divergent Series: Allegiant($5.7 million)10 Cloverfield Lane($4.7 million), Meet the Blacks ($4.08 million),Eye in the Sky($4.05 million) andDeadpool($3.5 million). Also opening in limited release are Paramount’sEverybody Wants Some, which earned $323,000 from 19 theaters for a $17,000, Broad Green Pictures' The Dark Horse, which took in $8,487 from two theaters for a $4,244 per-screen average and Sony Pictures Classics’Miles Ahead, which took in an impressive $122,751 from four theaters for a $30,688 per-screen average. No box office data was given for Lionsgate’sNatural Born Prankstersand Distrib Films' Next Time I’ll Aim for the Heart. Warner Bros.‘Midnight Specialis also getting a slight theatrical expansion, debuting in more than 55 theaters, earning $581,000 for a $10,017 per-screen average. It isn’t known if there are expansion plans for any of this week’s limited releases.
Looking forward to next weekend, three new movies are slated to debut in wide release, the thrillerBefore I Wake, Relativity’s first movie to come out following theirbankruptcyproceedings, Universal’s newcomedymovieThe Bossand STX Entertainment’sHardcore Henry. Also debuting in limited release is Fox Searchlight’sDemolition, Drafthouse Films’The Invitation, The Orchard’s Louder Than Bombs, Focus World’sMr. Right, and Starz Media’s One More Time. Take a look at the box office estimates below, and check back on Tuesday for next week’s predictions.
