'X-Men: Apocalypse,' 'Alice Through the Looking Glass' Set for Strong Memorial Day Box Office

“X-Men: Apocalypse” may feature superstar Jennifer Lawrence along with other returning star mutants, but the 20th Century Fox sequel probably won’t come within the $110.6 million opening made by its predecessor, 2014’s “Days of Future Past.”

Early tracking has the “X-Men” sequel aiming for $100 million for the long Memorial Day weekend (counting Monday’s results). Although studio estimates are set lower, just above $80 million.

The 20th Century Fox movie, directed by Bryan Singer, is opening on 4,100 screens and was made on a production budget of $178 million — about $12 million less than 2014’s “X-Men” installment, which also opened over the holiday weekend.

Also Read: 'X-Men': Everything You Need to Know Before Watching 'Apocalypse' (Photos)

With a 52 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, this “X-Men” installment is much less popular with critics this time around as “Days of Future Past” had a 91 percent rating.

Still, it should easily top the box office.

Meanwhile, Disney’s “Alice Through the Looking Glass” is tracking to debut in second place with around $70 million, once Monday’s holiday numbers come in. The studio, however, is predicting a more conservative $60 to $63 million.

Also Read: All 43 Marvel Movies Ranked From Worst to Best, Including 'X-Men: Apocalypse' (Photos)

Similar to this weekend’s upcoming “X-Men” sequel, the “Alice” sequel is less popular with critics this time around, receiving a 47 percent Rotten Tomatoes score. Though the first installment — a bonafide hit — proved to be pan-proof, grossing $116.1 million at the box office when it opened in spite of a 52 percent rating.

The live action sequel starring Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska will debut Friday in 3,750 theaters.

The Memorial Day weekend at the box office is a good report card on the summer, ComScore senior analyst Paul Degarabedian told TheWrap. “It’s an important barometer,” he said, predicting that the weekend will be a big one for the domestic box office as a whole, but likely won’t be quite enough to beat 2013’s record of $314.2 million in collective weekend grosses coming out of the holiday, led by “Fast & Furious 6.”

7 Summer Box Office Showdowns, Including 'Alice' vs. 'X-Men' (Photos)

May 20: "Neighbors 2" vs. "Angry Birds Movie" vs. "The Nice Guys"
Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne and Zac Efron return for some new fraternity high jinks -- and will face off against a 1970s-set film starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as well as some bitter animated birds based on the popular phone game.
May 27: "Alice Through the Looking Glass" vs. "X-Men: Apocalypse"

Two big sequels with wide appeal: "Alice" is a four-quadrant movie, meaning the movie offers something for every demographic. "X-Men" is another film in the popular franchise that already has a huge following, and let's be honest -- Marvel movies do extremely well at the box office. The box office winner may depend on which movie gets the IMAX screens.
Disney/Fox
June 10: "Conjuring 2" vs. "Now You See Me 2" vs. "Warcraft"

This summer day marks the release of two sequels to surprisingly successful movies, while the newcomver "Warcraft" will vie for fans of the popular video game.
Warner Bros./Summit/Universal
July 1: "The BFG" vs. "The Legend of Tarzan" vs. "The Purge: Election Year

Two classics are hitting theaters in the prime of summer. Steven Spielberg's adaptation of the Roald Dahl children's book faces a giant challenge from Alexander Skarsgard's jungle-raised man. "The Purge" franchise has consistently been a low-budget production but continued to make money at the box office -- the last film, "Anarchy," earned $72 million domestically.
Disney/Warner Bros./Universal
July 8: "Mike & Dave Need Wedding Dates" vs. "The Secret Life of Pets"
These light-hearted comedies target very different young audiences audiences. The former is a raunchy R-rated movie featuring Zac Efron and Anna Kendrick, while "Pets" targets family audiences in the tradition of recent Illumination hits like "Minions."

Fox/Illumination
July 22: "Star Trek Beyond" vs. "Ice Age: Collision Course"

"Star Trek Beyond" hopes to boldly go where 2013's "Trek Into Darkness" went, with a $229 million domestic gross based on the die-hard fan base. "Ice Age: Collision Course" is the fifth movie in a well-known franchise, which has accumulated $729.6 million in revenue since 2002.
Paramount/Fox
August 12: "Ben-Hur" vs. "Pete's Dragon" vs. "Sausage Party"

"Ben-Hur" and "Pete's Dragon" are mostly remakes of movies that young audiences may be too young to remember, while Seth Rogen's R-rated animated movie features a stellar cast of James Franco, Jonah Hill and Kristen Wiig.
Paramount/Disney/Sony