‘Tomorrowland’ Surges Past ‘Pitch Perfect 2’ at Memorial Day Box Office
Disney’s sci-fi saga on $41 million course with musical comedy, “Mad Max” the “Avengers” sequel and “Poltergeist” in pursuit in lazy holiday at multiplexes
Todd Cunningham | May 24, 2015 @ 8:19 AM
Last Updated: May 24, 2015 @ 12:24 PM
When Disney’s braintrust set its original sci-fi movie epic “Tomorrowland” for the Memorial Day weekend, it’s doubtful they gave much thought to the Barden Bellas of “Pitch Perfect 2.”
But director Brad Bird and Damon Lindelof, the team that conceived “Tomorrowland,” have probably gotten their fill of the saucy a capella singing team led by Fat Amy and Beca — that’s Rebel Wilson and Anna Kendrick, for the aca-uninitiated — at the center of Universal s musical comedy.
On Sunday, “Tomorrowland,” the $150 million sci-fi saga inspired by the utopian dreams of Disneyland founder Walt Disney and one of its park rides, was pulling away from “Pitch Perfect 2” after the two movies went into Saturday neck-and-neck. The sprawling adventure starring George Clooney, Hugh Laurie and Britt Robertson was heading for a $41 million box-office triumph over the long holiday weekend. The reigning champ Barden Bellas were just behind at roughly $39 million and have pushed their domestic haul to $125.4 million in ten days, nearly double the original film’s final total, and their global grosses to $187 million.
The Tom Hardy-Charlize Theron road rage revival “Mad Max: Fury Road,” the blockbuster “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and the weekend’s other wide opener, MGM and Fox’s “Poltergeist” remake, were all bunched behind the leaders and heading for around $30 million.
It was a competitive but subdued Memorial Day weekend at the box office, with ticket sales down roughly 20 percent from last year, when Fox’s superhero saga “X-Men: Days of Future Past” dominated with a $110 million triumph.
The audience for the PG-rated “Tomorrowland” was about even in terms of gender and skewed older with 60 percent of the crowd over the age of 25. They gave the film a “B” CinemaScore and liked it more than the critics, who have it at 50 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes.
“It’s less than we were hoping, but when you decide to take a risk with an original story and a new intellectual property, it comes with a trade-off in the lack of pre-awareness,” Disney distribution chief Dave Hollis told TheWrap Sunday.
This release date could have a positive impact over the next few weeks, as “Tomorrowland” will be the only PG-rated movie in the marketplace until Disney rolls out Pixar Animation’s “Inside Out” on June 19.
“We’ll be the family option until then, so we’ll wait a little bit to pass judgment,” said Hollis.
The marketing campaign for the film centered on mystery and “Box 52,” a forgotten container supposedly found by workmen in a studio basement containing Disney relics and photos that Bird and Lindelof said inspired the film. That piqued curiosity and was fun but may have limited the opening by leaving the film’s subject matter unclear to some.
“Our campaign was inspired and most consumers loved the mystery angle, but that comes with a risk, too, and awareness will build,” said Hollis. “We need time to breathe.”
Launching an original film was a point of pride for Disney, said Hollis, and practicality.
“While not suggesting this is going to change the whole landscape, it is important for the industry to tell original stories. We can’t just produce franchises and sequels,” he said.
The PG-13-rated horror remake “Poltergeist” was just such a sequel, and comes 33 years after the original creepy classic. If it does finish with around $3o million for the four days, it will have come in above the expectations of most analysts as well as MGM and Fox.
It will be on the path to profitability too, since the production budget for the Gil Kenan-directed remake starring Sam Rockwell and Rosemarie DeWitt is a moderate $35 million.
Typically hard-grading horror fans gave it a “C+” CinemaScore.
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” is expected to cross the $400 million threshold at the domestic box office on Sunday, joining “The Avengers” and “Iron Man 3” to become the third Marvel Cinematic Universe film to do so for Disney. It is the highest grossing film of the year domestically and internationally.
“Mad Max: Fury Road” held very well in its second week, losing just 37 percent of the audience from its strong opening last weekend for Warner Bros. The R-rated action sequel written and directed by George Miller, who did the same for the original starring Mel Gibson, should hit $1o0 million domestically early next week and has taken in$126 million from overseas.
“Far From the Madding Crowd,” another remake of an older film — the original with Julie Christie and Alan Bates came out in 1967 — went from 576 to 865 theaters and will bring in $2.8 million in its fourth week for Fox Searchlight. That puts the domestic total for the Tom Vinterberg-directed drama starring Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts at $6 million.
42 Summer Movies on Our Radar: From 'Avengers,' 'Jurassic World' to 'Magic Mike XXL' (Photos)
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" - May 1 The elite superhero team -- including Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans -- assembles again in this follow up to the 2012 blockbuster.
Marvel/Disney
"Welcome to Me" - May 1 Kristen Wiig stars in this indie drama about a woman with borderline personality disorder who buys herself a cable access talk show after winning the lottery. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay produced.
Alchemy
"The D-Train" - May 8 Jack Black plays the head of his high school reunion committee who must convince the most popular guy in his class (James Marsden) to attend the reunion in this Sundance pic.
IFC
"Maggie" - May 8 Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in this indie as a father who stays with his daughter (Abigail Breslin) as she transforms into a zombie.
Roadside Attractions
"Hot Pursuit" - May 8 Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara star in this buddy comedy about a straight-laced cop (Witherspoon) tasked with escorting a witness (Vergara) to her trial
Warner Bros
"The Connection" - May 15 Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin stars in this French crime thriller as a real-life policeman who dedicates his career to taking down a drug lord (Gilles Lellouche)
Relativity
"Mad Max: Fury Road" - May 15 Tom Hardy takes over the role that made Mel Gibson an international star in this reboot from the madcap mind of George Miller
Warner Bros.
"Pitch Perfect 2" - May 15 Anna Kendrick returns for the song-filled sequel to the 2012 musical smash hit.
Universal
"Poltergeist" - May 22 Sam Rockwell leads a remake of the 1982 horror classic that was originally written by Steven Spielberg.
Twentieth Century Fox
"Tomorrowland" - May 22 George Clooney and Britt Robertson star in a sci-fi fantasy about a man and woman who must discover the secrets of a strange land lost in time and space.
Disney
"Aloha" - May 29 Cameron Crowe directs Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone in a romantic comedy about a military contractor overseeing a satellite launch in Hawaii.
Columbia Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox
"San Andreas" - May 29
Dwayne Johnson stars in a disaster movie about a chopper pilot who must rescue his daughter (Alexandra Daddario) after a massive earthquake strikes California.
Warner Bros.
"Entourage" - June 5 Vince (Adrian Grenier) drives Ari (Jeremy Piven) up the wall when he decides to direct and star in his own movie in the big screen version of the HBO show.
HBO/Warner Bros.
"Spy" - June 5 Melissa McCarthy co-wrote and stars in a comedy about a CIA analyst who gets her chance to work in the field when an arms dealer (Rose Byrne) threatens to destabilize the world.
Twentieth Century Fox
"Insidious Chapter 3" - June 5 In this horror prequel, psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) agrees to help teenager (Stefanie Scott) who is being targeted by a supernatural force.
Blumhouse
"Jurassic World" - June 12 Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas-Howard lead the latest installment in the Michael Crichton-inspired series. This time around, the park is terrorized by a genetically-engineered dinosaur that escapes its enclosure.
Legendary Pictures
"Me and Earl and The Dying Girl" - June 12 This 2015 Sundance Grand Jury winner follows an anti-social teen (Thomas Mann) who falls in love with a classmate (Olivia Cooke) who has leukemia.
Fox Searchlight
"Dope" - June 19 This Sundance breakout centers on a teen (Shameik Moore) trying to make his Ivy League dreams come true in his tough LA neighborhood.
Open Road Films
"Inside Out" - June 19 Pixar takes us inside the mind of a little girl as her emotions vie for control. Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader all lend their voices.
Disney/Pixar
"Ted 2" - June 26 Seth MacFarlane's foul-mouthed teddy bear returns in the sequel that finds Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) and John (Mark Wahlberg) fighting in court to prove that Ted is human.
Universal Pictures
"Batkid Begins" June 26 This feel-good documentary tells the story of a five-year-old leukemia patient who inspired people from all over the world to help him live out his dream of being Batman for a day.
Warner Bros
"Max" - June 26 A Marine-trained German shepherd is sent to live with the family of his former handler (Robbie Amell), who was killed in Afghanistan
Warner Bros
"Big Game" - June 26 A teenage-boy (Onni Tommila) rescues the President of the United States (Samuel L. Jackson) when Air Force One crash lands near his campsite.
EuropaCorp
"Magic Mike XXL" - July 1 Channing Tatum gyrates his way into this sequel as stripper "Magic" Mike who decides to attend an annual stripper conference in Myrtle Beach.
Warner Bros.
"Terminator: Genisys" - July 1 Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as the unstoppable android as he fights to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) with the help of Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney).
Paramount
"Minions" - July 2 The Minions are back in this "Despicable Me" spinoff. This time, they are recruited by a super-villainess (Sandra Bullock) in her plot to take over the world.
Universal Pictures
"The Bronze" - July 10 "Big Bang Theory" star Melissa Rauch co-wrote and stars in this comedy about a former Olympic athlete clinging to her last shreds of fame.
Relativity
"Self/Less" - July 10 Ryan Reynolds stars in this thriller about a wealthy, dying man who pays to have his consciousness transferred into a younger body. When he begins to investigate where the body came from, he discovers a terrifying mystery
Focus Features
"Ant-Man" - July 17 Paul Rudd leads this Marvel comic adaptation about a con man who is given a device that can shrink him in scale by Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas).
Marvel/Disney
"Trainwreck" - July 17 Amy Schumer and Bill Hader star in a Judd Apatow comedy about a magazine writer (Schumer) who refuses to commit, until her relationship with a doctor (Hader) challenges her notions of monogamy.
Universal Pictures
"Stanford Prison Experiment" - July 17 Based on the infamous 1971 psychological experiment, 24 male students volunteer to play prisoners or guards in a mock-prison, only for things to spiral completely out of control.
IFC
"Paper Towns" - July 24 Based on the novel by John Green, Nat Wolff plays a boy who convinces his friends to embark on a road trip to find the missing girl next door (Cara Delevingne).
Twentieth Century Fox
"Pixels" - July 24 Adam Sandler leads a team of gamers (Kevin James, Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage) who must fight aliens that invade Earth in the form of classic video games.
Columbia Pictures
"Southpaw" - July 24 Jake Gyllenhaal packed on the muscle for this drama about a troubled boxer fighting to regain custody of his daughter. Antoine Fuqua directed based on a script by Kurt Sutter.
The Weinstein Company
"Irrational Man" - July 24 Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone star in a Woody Allen film about a college philosophy professor (Phoenix) who enters into a relationship with his student (Stone).
Sony Classics
"Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" - July 31 Tom Cruise once again does the impossible as he leads his team against an international syndicate intent on destroying the Impossible Mission Force.
Paramount
"End of the Tour" - July 31 Jesse Eisenberg stars as Rolling Stone journalist David Lipsky as he conducts a series of interviews with author David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel). The film is based on Lipsky's book, "Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself."
A24
"Fantastic Four" - August 7 Miles Teller (Mr. Fantastic), Michael B. Jordan (Human Torch), Kate Mara (Invisible Girl), and Jamie Bell (The Thing) lead this comic adaptation about the superhero team that gained powers after an accident in space.
Twentieth Century Fox
"Masterminds" - August 7 Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudekis and Zach Galifianakis star in this heist comedy about a real 1997 armored car robbery in North Carolina
Relativity
"The Man From U.N.C.L.E." - August 14 Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer play an American and Russian agent forced to team up to stop an evil organization trying to steal nuclear weapons. The film is based on the 1964 TV series of the same name.
Warner Bros
"Straight Outta Compton" - August 14 O'Shea Jackson Jr., the son of Ice Cube, plays his father in this look at the impact of the revolutionary gangster rap group NWA.
Universal
"Hitman: Agent 47" - August 28 Rupert Friend stars in this video game adaptation about a genetically engineered assassin who teams up with a mysterious young woman to bring down an evil corporation.
Twentieth Century Fox
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TheWrap Summer Movie Preview 2015: “Mission: Impossible 5,” “Entourage,” “Mad Max: Fury Road” also among season’s big releases