Will Alice 2 or X-Men: Apocalypse Win the Weekend Box Office?

Last weekend, Sony’sAngry Birds Moviemanaged to take down two-time box office champCaptain America: Civil War. The Marvel sequel has already taken in more than $300 million domestically and $1 billion worldwide after just three frames in theaters. Unfortunately for Sony’s animated comedy, theAngry Birds' reign will certainly be short-lived, with two highly-anticipated movies duking it out for box office supremacy starting this Friday. 20th Century Fox will roll outX-Men: Apocalypse, while Disney will debutAlice Through the Looking Glass, setting the stage for a big box office showdown. According to our projections, the mutants ofX-Men: Apocalypseshould be able to come out on top against the magical characters of Alice’s Wonderland.

Box Office Mojoreports thatX-Men: Apocalypseis slated to debut in approximately 4,000 theaters this weekend, with Disney expected to roll outAlice Through the Looking Glassin roughly 3,700 theaters. Both of those counts are currently belowCaptain America: Civil War, which remained in 4,226 theaters last weekend, but that number could change heading into its fourth weekend in theaters. Barring a sudden rash of positive reviews, both of these new releases aren’t shaping up to be critical hits.X-Men: Apocalypsecurrently sits at a middling 52% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, whileAlice Through the Looking Glasshas a 48% rating. Despite those low marks,X-Men: Apocalypseis expected to debut on top with $81.5 million, whileAlice Through the Looking Glassfollows in second place with an estomated $56.2 million.

ForX-Men: Apocalypse, that debut will come in just shy ofX-Men: Days of Future Past’s $90.8 million opening weekend, but well aboveX-Men: First Class' $55.1 million debut. It will also fall short of this year’s blockbusterX-MenspinoffDeadpool, which took in $132.4 million in its opening weekend, the best ever for an R-rated movie andX-Menfranchise history.X-Men: Apocalypse' critical take is also much lower thanX-Men: First Class(87% on Rotten Tomatoes) andX-Men: Days of Future Past(91% on Rotten Tomatoes). However, these projections represent even worse news forAlice: Through the Looking Glass, which is shaping up to debut with less than half of the opening week take of its predecessor, 2010’sAlice in Wonderland. That adventure opened with $116.1 million en route to $334.1 million domestic and $1.02 billion worldwide. However, the sequel is on pace withAlice in Wonderland’s critical reception, which earned just a 52% score on RT.

Following the critically acclaimed global smash hitX-Men: Days of Future Past, directorBryan Singerreturns withX-Men: Apocalypse. Since the dawn of civilization, he was worshipped as a god. Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel’sX-Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. Upon awakening after thousands of years, he is disillusioned with the world as he finds it and recruits a team of powerful mutants, including a disheartened Magneto (Michael Fassbender), to cleanse mankind and create a new world order, over which he will reign. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) with the help of Professor X (James McAvoy) must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction.

In Disney’sAlice Through the Looking Glass, an all-new spectacular adventure featuring the unforgettable characters from Lewis Carroll’s beloved stories, Alice returns to the whimsical world of Underland and travels back in time to save the Mad Hatter. Directed byJames Bobin, who brings his own unique vision to the spectacular worldTim Burtoncreated on screen in 2010 withAlice in Wonderland, the film is written byLinda Woolvertonbased on characters created byLewis Carroll.Alice Through the Looking Glassreunites the all-star cast from the worldwide blockbuster phenomenon, including:Johnny Depp,Anne HathawayandHelena Bonham Carterare also back as the White Queen and the Red Queen. They join the voices ofAlan Rickman(Blue Caterpillar),Stephen Fry(Cheshire Cat),Michael Sheen(White Rabbit) andTimothy Spall(Bayard). We are also introduced to several new characters in this exciting sequel, including Zanik Hightopp (Rhys Ifans), theMad Hatter’s father and Time himself (Sacha Baron Cohen), a peculiar creature who is part human, part clock.

Alice Kingsleigh (Wasikowska) has spent the past few years following in her father’s footsteps and sailing the high seas. Upon her return to London, she comes across a magical looking glass and returns to the fantastical realm of Underland and her friends the White Rabbit (Sheen), Absolem (Rickman), the Cheshire Cat (Fry) and the Mad Hatter (Depp), who is not himself. The Hatter has lost his Muchness, so Mirana (Hathaway) sends Alice on a quest to borrow the Chronosphere, a metallic globe inside the chamber of the Grand Clock which powers all time. Returning to the past, she comes across friends - and enemies - at different points in their lives, and embarks on a perilous race to save the Hatter before time runs out. Rounding out the top 10 this week will be holdoversThe Angry Birds Movie($28.7 million),Captain America: Civil War($18.2 million) andNeighbors 2: Sorority Rising($11.4 million).

Rounding out the top 10 this weekend will beThe Nice Guys($7.9 million),The Jungle Book$6.5 million),Money Monster($4.2 million),The Darkness($1.3 million) andZootopia$1 million). Also opening in limited release this weekend is Abramorama’sAs I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM, Strand’sChevalier, FilmRise’sHoly Hell, Adopt Films’The Idol, Magnolia’sThe Ones Belowand Well Go USA’sThe Wailing. We don’t know for certain if any of these movies will be expanding to wider releases in the weeks to come, so stay tuned.

Looking ahead to next weekend, Paramount will roll out the action-packed sequelTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, alongside Warner Bros.' romanceMe Before Youand Universal’s comedyPopstar: Never Stop Never Stopping. Also debuting in limited release is Independent’s sci-fi thrillerApproaching the Unknown, United Entertainment Partners' dramaThe Final Master, Oscilloscope Pictures' dramaThe Fitsand FilmRise’s documentaryThe Witness. Be sure to check back on Sunday for thebox officeestimates, and again next Tuesday for the next round of predictions. Until then, check out our predictions for the weekend of May 27.