Moviegoers propelled the 2013 Memorial Day box office to record setting levels. The 2011 Memorial weekend was previously the biggest moneymaking frame when The Hangover Part II grossed a gargantuan $135 million. That record stands no more.
However, The Wolf Pack is not the primary reason why this time around. That honor belongs to Fast and Furious 6, which grossed a fantastic $120 million over the four-day frame. This comes in above my $106.8M projection. Clearly the goodwill from Fast Five (the franchise’s best reviewed and highest earning entry) and solid reviews for the sixth edition made this the must-see event of the weekend. The seventh Fast film is already slated to open next summer.
The news was not as good for the aforementioned Wolf Pack. The Hangover Part III opened to tepid reviews and received a “B” Cinemascore grade (for comparison, the second Hangover got an A-). It was starting to feel like audiences were souring on the franchise and this proved true. Part III grossed $51.2 million over the four-day frame and $63 million over the five-day frame (it opened Thursday, unlike the weekend’s other new entries). This is lower my projections of $60.3M and $77.4M over the four and five day, respectively. If a $63 million opening seems decent to you… well, not so much. Let me put it to you this way – that’s $72 million dollars lower than its predecessor’s opening gross just two years ago. Ouch.
Star Trek Into Darkness had an encouraging second weekend after a somewhat disappointing opening weekend. The JJ Abrams sequel earned $47 million over the holiday frame – above my $41M projection. A gross north of $200 million seems likely at this point.
The summer’s first animated feature Epic made a respectable $42.6 million, a tad below my $45.5M projection. It’s going to be a few weekends before Epic receives direct competition, so it should hold nicely for awhile.
Rounding out the top five is Iron Man 3 in its fourth weekend. It earned $24.4 million, slightly above my $21.7M estimate.
Tonight on the blog, I’ll make my projection for After Earth, Will Smith’s sci-fi flick opening this Friday. Tomorrow, my estimate for next weekend’s other opener, Now You See Me. Stay tuned!
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