- Box Office
World Box Office, May 16 – 22
X-Men: Apocalypse kicked off the weekend with a big $100.3 million opening in 75 foreign markets. Bryan Singer’s fourth term at the helm of the franchise netted an even better opening segment in those territories than Days of Future Past did when it opened back in 2014. Its top market so far is the UK with $10.5 million, followed by Mexico where it was Fox’s second biggest launch of all time with $8.6 million, Brazil at $6.6 million, and Russia and France, both at $5.9 million. 41% of its gross came from 3D plays, while Imax screens netted $5 million across 57 markets.
On the domestic front, instead viewers flocked to the big screen appearance of smartphone superstars Angry Birds. The Sony property opened to $38 million at home and pushed aside recent mainstay Captain America to take the number one box office spot. Made in collaboration with Finnish studio Rovio Animation, Birds features the voices of Maya Rudolph, Kate McKinnon, Sean Penn, Danny McBride, Peter Dinklage, and Josh Gad, among others. The plot pits pigs against birds, as fans of the mobile game may have expected, and focuses on the efforts of Red, Chuck, and Bomb as they try to recover stolen eggs from the pigs’ island.
It scored big overseas as well. A solid China opening netted $29.9 million and the distinction of being the biggest Hollywood animated opening of the year, while a new South Korean launch was worth $1.5 million. The Netherlands and Brazil were worth the same $1.5 million, while in Russia it tacked on $2.6 million to reach a local cume of $9.5 million. Other big territory totals include Germany and $6.8 million, the UK at $2.9 million, and Mexico at $4.8 million. It’s already beating the opening run of the biggest video game adaptation in history, 2010’s Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, and could go on to claim the top spot in this growing sub-genre.
Two spots down on the chart we find Universal’s Neighbors 2. The sequel reunites Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne with the original frat boy antagonist Zach Ephron, who this time appears as a good guy helping the tired couple to fend off a group of hard-partying sorority sisters who have moved in next door. It opened to $21.7 million at home, less than half of the original’s $49 million. Overseas it managed $6 million. The film’s combined global cumulative now stands at $51.7 million.
Fellow newcomer The Nice Guys had a tougher reception at the U.S. box office and landed a $11.2 million domestic haul. A well-received promotional campaign and the presence of Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, two of the biggest draws in Hollywood’s current and previous generations of A-list superstars, weren’t enough to give this film a solid opening take.
In holdover news Captain America: Civil War made $33 million at home and $40 million abroad, which was enough to push it into ten figure territory this weekend as it reached a $1.053 billion global cumulative. The Jungle Book tacked on $18 million worldwide, while Divergent Series: The Allegiant added $11 million at home and abroad.
Next week we’ll check Apocalypse’s opening run in the U.S. and see how much of a hit it takes from Alice Through the Looking Glass, which opens on the same day.
Download this week’s box office chart: