Two new releases hit theaters this weekend, both vying for the box office crown over the Memorial Day holiday. 20th Century Fox’sX-Men: Apocalypseand Disney’sAlice Through the Looking Glassboth squared off in hopes of taking the holiday weekend box office crown, but it wasX-Men: Apocalypsethat came away as the winner, taking in $65 million. Unfortunately, this opening weekend is the lowest in this new prequel trilogy.
Box Office Mojoreports thatX-Men: Apocalypse’s opening is the lowest debut since 2011’sX-Men: First Class, which debuted with $55.1 million back in 2011. This debut also comes in far lower than 2014’sX-Men: Days of Future Past, which took in $90.8 million, and significantly lower than the studio’sX-MenspinoffDeadpool, which took in $132.4 million, en route to becoming the franchise’s top-grossing movie with $362.7 million domestic and $763.1 million worldwide.
X-Men: Apocalypsedebuted this weekend in 4,150 theaters, with Disney debutingAlice Through the Looking Glassin 3,763 theaters. Both of these new releases aren’t shaping up to be critical hits.X-Men: Apocalypsecurrently sits at a middling 48% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, whileAlice Through the Looking Glasshas a 29% rating. Despite those low marks,Alice Through the Looking Glassdebuted in second place with an estimated $28.1 million. Much likeX-Men: Apocalypse,Alice Through The Looking Glasscame in far under its predecessor
2010’sAlice in Wonderlandopened with $116.1 million en route to $334.1 million domestic and $1.02 billion worldwide. That movie helped spawn the slew of live action adaptations that Disney has been cranking out lately, such asMaleficent,Cinderellaand the upcomingPete’s Dragonremake, just to name a few.Alice Through the Looking Glasswas produced under a whopping $170 million budget, and it remains to be seen if the movie will eventually turn a profit, after this underwhelming debut.
Following the critically acclaimed global smash hitX-Men: Days of Future Past, directorBryan Singerreturns withX-Men: Apocalypse. Since the dawn of civilization, he was worshiped 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), the Mad 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 5 this week is holdoversThe Angry Birds Movie($18.7 million),Captain America: Civil War($15.1 million) andNeighbors 2: Sorority Rising($9.1 million).
Rounding out the top 10 this weekend will beThe Jungle Book($6.9 million),The Nice Guys($6.3 million),Money Monster($4.2 million),Love & Friendship($2.4 million) andZootopia($832,000). 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,. but no box office data was released for these limited releases yet. 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 Tuesday for next week’sbox officepredictions. Until then, check out the estimates for the weekend of May 27.
