The sequel Superman Returns expectedly took the top spot at the North American box office this weekend with $52.1 million, lifting its five-day total since its debut Wednesday to $84.2 million.
The big opening puts the film ahead of last year’s Batman Begins, another Warner Bros. superhero revival, which took in $48.7 million over its opening weekend and $72.9 million in its first five days. But as superhero movies go, Superman Returns finished far behind Sony’s Spider-Man 2, the record-holder for best five-day openings, with $152.4 million over Fourth of July weekend in 2004.
The weekend’s other new wide release, The Devil Wears Prada, debuted stronger than expected, coming in second with $27 million. According to The Associated Press, industry analysts had expected the boss-from-hell movie, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, to debut at less than $20 million.
The top 12 movies grossed $140.1 million, up 4.78 percent from last year’s draw of $133.7 and up 7.85 percent from last weekend, which took in $129.9 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year were: Warner Bros. Batman Begins, which stayed at No. 1 for the second week in a row with $27.5 million in 3,858 theaters, averaging $7,151 per theater; Sony’s Bewitched, which opened in second place with $20.1 million in 3,174 theaters, averaging $6,343 per theaters; and 20th Century Fox’s Mr. & Mrs. Smith, which dropped to third place in its third week with $16.8 million in 3,265 theaters, averaging $5,153 per theaters (Click here to read last year’s box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10, ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Superman Returns (Warner Bros., PG-13)
• Gross: $52.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 4,065
• Per-theater average: $13,321
• Cume to date: $84.2 million (opened Wednesday)
No. 2: The Devil Wears Prada (20th Century Fox, PG-13)
• Gross: $27 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2,847
• Per-theater average: $9,484
No. 3: Click (Sony Pictures, PG-13)
• Gross: $19.4 million (-52%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 3,764 (+15)
• Per-theater average: $5,154
• Cume to date: $77.9 million
No. 4: Cars (Buena Vista, G)
• Gross: $14 million (-40%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 3,706 (-243)
• Per-theater average: $3,787
• Cume to date: $182 million
No. 5: Nacho Libre (Paramount Pictures, PG)
• Gross: $6.1 million (-51%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 3,082 (-1)
• Per-theater average: $2,007
• Cume to date: $64.9 million
No. 6: The Lake House (Warner Bros., PG)
• Gross: $4.5 million (-49%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,645 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,705
• Cume to date: $38.7 million
No. 7: The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $4.4 million (-55%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,670 (-360)
• Per-theater average: $1,648
• Cume to date: $51.7 million
No. 8: Waist Deep (Focus/Rogue, R)
• Gross: $3.3 million (-65%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,006 (+2)
• Per-theater average: $3,292
• Cume to date: $15.1 million
No. 9: The Break-Up (Universal, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.8 million (-58%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 1,912 (-994)
• Per-theater average: $1,464
• Cume to date: $110.1 million
No. 10: The Da Vinci Code (Sony, PG-13)
• Gross: $2.3 million (-43%)
• Weeks opened: 7
• Theaters: 1,384 (-527)
• Per-theater average: $1,662
• Cume to date: $209.7 million
