鈥淧ok茅mon Detective Pikachu鈥� gave 鈥淎vengers: Endgame鈥� a run for its money this weekend at the box office, but the superheroes managed to hold onto the throne once again.
The Walt Disney Co. said Sunday that the Marvel blockbuster earned an estimated $63.1 million from its third weekend in North American theatres, bringing its domestic grosses to $723.5 million, surpassing the totals for 鈥淏lack Panther鈥� and 鈥淎vengers: Infinity War.鈥�
Internationally, it added $102.3 million, bringing its global total to just shy of $2.5 billion where it remains the second biggest worldwide release of all time behind 鈥淎vatar鈥� ($2.8 billion.)
But three weeks into 鈥淎vengers鈥� dominance, the market finally had some room for another film to make a substantial impact. Warner Bros. managed to draw a significant audience to its live-action 鈥淧ok茅mon Detective Pikachu,鈥� which opened on 4,202 screens and earned an estimated $58 million from ticket sales.
鈥淲hat a terrific result,鈥� said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. head of domestic distribution. 鈥淚t鈥檚 so much fun to watch 鈥楧etective Pikachu鈥� have this kind of opening.鈥�
And there鈥檚 no bad blood that 鈥淓ndgame鈥� powered past 鈥淧ikachu鈥� in the end.
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鈥淚t was fun to win Friday night, but as they say in golf, you play your own game and I鈥檓 thrilled with our result,鈥� Goldstein added.
It even beat 鈥淓ndgame鈥� internationally by a very slight margin with $103 million.
Ryan Reynolds voices the popular Pok茅mon character in the film, which notched a record of its own: Biggest video game adaption opening. The previous record-holder was the Angelina Jolie 鈥淭omb Raider鈥� from 2001, which opened with $47 million, not adjusted for inflation.
鈥淭ypically movies based on video games haven鈥檛 been all that successful,鈥� Goldstein said.
It was a mixed bag for other newcomers looking for a piece of the market, including two women-led comedies strategically launching on Mother鈥檚 Day: 鈥淭he Hustle鈥� and 鈥淧oms,鈥� which both attracted an overwhelmingly female audience.
鈥淭he Hustle,鈥� a gender-flipped spin on 鈥淒irty Rotten Scoundrels鈥� with Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson, landed in third place with $13.6 million despite lacklustre reviews.
Less lucky was the Diane Keaton cheerleading comedy 鈥淧oms,鈥� which grossed only $5.1 million in its debut against similarly negative reviews from critics. 鈥淧oms鈥� placed sixth behind the thriller 鈥淭he Intruder鈥� ($6.6 million) and the Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron rom-com 鈥淟ong Shot鈥� ($6.1 million), which are both in their second weekends.
In smaller releases, 鈥淭olkien,鈥� a biopic about the 鈥淟ord of the Rings鈥� author starring Nicholas Hoult opened in ninth place on 1,495 screens with $2.2 million, while the documentary 鈥淭he Biggest Little Farm鈥� debuted in five locations and earned $101,012.
And while not every film was a hit this weekend, the diversity of content is important to the marketplace, noted Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. Overall, the industry-wide box office continues to get stronger as the year goes on. The weekend is up around 23%, and the year is down around 9%. Three weeks ago, pre-鈥淓ndgame,鈥� that year-to-date deficit was at 17%.
鈥淚t should never be about just one type of movie,鈥� said Dergarabedian. 鈥淭hat used to be the thing about summer, it was about drawing in the 18-24 year olds with superhero movies and action movies. In today鈥檚 world, summer offers a much more eclectic and diverse mix and that鈥檚 paying dividends for Hollywood.鈥�
And May has more big movies to come, including 鈥淎laddin,鈥� 鈥漅ocketman,鈥� 鈥滼ohn Wick 3: Parabellum and 鈥淕odzilla: King of the Monsters.鈥�
鈥淢ay could be a monster at the box office,鈥� Dergarabedian said.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淎vengers: Endgame,鈥� $63.1 million ($102.3 million international).
2. 鈥淧ok茅mon Detective Pikachu,鈥� $58 million ($103 million international).
3. 鈥淭he Hustle,鈥� $13.6 million ($13.7 million international).
4. 鈥淭he Intruder,鈥� $6.6 million.
5. 鈥淟ong Shot,鈥� $6.1 million ($1.6 million international).
6. 鈥淧oms,鈥� $5.1 million ($736,000 international).
7. 鈥淯glydolls,鈥� $3.9 million ($522,000 international).
8. 鈥淏reakthrough,鈥� $2.5 million.
9. 鈥淭olkien,鈥� $2.2 million ($200,283 international).
10. 鈥淐aptain Marvel,鈥� $1.8 million.
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Comscore:
1. 鈥淧ok茅mon Detective Pikachu,鈥� $103 million.
2. 鈥淎vengers: Endgame,鈥� $102.3 million.
3. 鈥淭he Hustle,鈥� $13.7 million.
4. 鈥淐apernaum,鈥� $8.3 million.
5. 鈥淢om,鈥� $5.6 million.
6. 鈥淲e鈥檒l End Up Together,鈥� $5.1 million.
7. 鈥淢iss & Mrs. Cops,鈥� $4.2 million.
8. 鈥淭he Curse of La Llorona,鈥� $3.5 million.
9. 鈥淧et Semetary,鈥� $2.4 million.
10. 鈥淪weet Family,鈥� $2.2 million.
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Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
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