By Erich Schwartzel
"Pitch Perfect 2" stopped the show at the box office this
weekend, grossing an estimated $70.3 million in first place.
That debut is about $5 million more than the entire domestic
gross of the original film, and more than double the sequel's $29
million budget.
Heading into the weekend, analysts expected the sequel to
premiere in the $40 million range. But not much about the "Pitch
Perfect" franchise has made sense by traditional Hollywood rules.
The original film, an acerbic comedy set in the low-stakes world of
collegiate a capella singing, opened in September 2012--hardly a
time of year known for major features.
Steady word-of-mouth helped it collect a surprising $65 million
domestically, and the movie began a robust second life on DVD and
cable. Merchandise covered with movie catch phrases like
"Aca-awesome" started being sold, and a sequel got the green light.
The popularity had grown so much that Comcast Corp.'s Universal
Pictures slotted its sequel for mid-May, counter-programming amid
summer's superhero epics.
"There are a lot of big action movies and we'll continue to be
that alternative," said Nick Carpou, Universal's president of
domestic distribution.
"Pitch Perfect 2" stars Anna Kendrick as Beca, an a capella star
whose fellow "Barden Bellas" find themselves trying to navigate a
world singing championship and impending graduation.
One of the film's stars, actress Elizabeth Banks, directed the
sequel. This weekend's performance is the second-highest debut for
a movie directed by a woman, after Sam Taylor-Johnson's "Fifty
Shades of Grey," which Universal released in February. Women made
up about 75% of the opening-weekend audience for "Pitch Perfect 2."
Overseas, the movie has grossed $38.1 million in 29 territories,
with 30 to go.
A third "Pitch Perfect" film is in the works but hasn't been
scheduled for release yet, said Mr. Carpou.
The weekend's other new release, "Mad Max: Fury Road," with Tom
Hardy as Max and Charlize Theron as Imperator Furiosa, landed in
second place with $44.4 million. The dystopian movie, filled with
extended car-chase scenes as Max and Furiosa flee an evil ruler
across a post-apocalyptic desert, is the fourth of the "Mad Max"
franchise that originally starred Mel Gibson in the 1970s and
1980s. "Fury Road" was distributed by Time Warner Inc.'s Warner
Bros. and co-financed with Village Roadshow Pictures
With a budget of about $150 million, "Mad Max" will need a
strong hold in the weeks to come. Helping that along: Rave reviews
from nearly every critic in the country. That is especially rare
for an R-rated, "pure action" film, said Dan Fellman, president of
domestic distribution at Warner Bros.
"People are wowed by it," said Mr. Fellman. "We're going to be
around for a long time."
Audiences gave it a "B+" grade, according to the CinemaScore
market research firm. "Pitch Perfect 2" received an "A-."
Third place went to Walt Disney Co.'s "Avengers: Age of Ultron,"
collecting $38.8 million for a cumulative $372 million. The Marvel
Studios movie opened in China on Tuesday and has already collected
$156.3 million there. Its worldwide gross so far is $1.14
billion.
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