With Tony Stark, Steve Rogers and company occupying big auditoriums, most April holdovers lost at least half of their audience this weekend. With one of the better holds in the top ten, The Age of Adaline jumped from third to second place, making $6.3 million. The Blake Lively drama dropped 53% and has grossed $23.4 million in 10 days. With Mother’s Day weekend coming up, the female-skewing flick should hold up well and a finish between $35 and $40 million is likely.
After four straight weekends on top, Furious 7 finally braked, plummeting 66% to take third and $6.1 million. With Age of Ultron’s muscular opening and sporting events drawing big crowds on Saturday, a big fall was expected. With $330.5 million after a month of release, it could be a photo finish with the $350 million mark by the end of its North American run. Worldwide, the sixth sequel has already topped the $1.4 billion mark, making it the fourth biggest film of all-time (right behind The Avengers).
Two family films followed in fourth and fifth place. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 tumbled 62% to bring in another $5.6 million, upping its total to a solid $51.2 million. The comedy could finish near $60 million, or less than half its predecessor’s total. DreamWorks hit Home also lost many families and its 3D screens to Age of Ultron, falling 59% to bring in another $3.3 million. The film has earned $158.1 million so far and should finish its run between $165 and $170 million domestically.
In limited release, Far from the Madding Crowd had a solid if unspectacular debut, earning $172,000 from 10 theaters. That is a fine start, although it is not as stellar as recent Fox Searchlight titles opening on the first weekend of May, such as Belle (around $107,000 from four theaters) and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (nearly $740,000 from 27 cinemas). The literary drama starring Carey Mulligan should expand in the coming weeks.
Here are the numbers for the Top 10 films at the North American box office for the weekend of May 1 through 3, 2015:
1. Avengers: Age of Ultron – $187.7 million (NEW)
2. The Age of Adaline – $6.3 million ($23.4 million total)
3. Furious 7 – $6.1 million ($330.5 million total)
4. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 – $5.6 million ($51.2 million total)
5. Home – $3.3 million ($158.1 million total)
6. Cinderella – $2.4 million ($193.7 million total)
7. Ex Machina – $2.2 million ($10.9 million total)
8. Unfriended – $2 million ($28.5 million total)
9. The Longest Ride – $1.7 million ($33.2 million total)
10. Woman in Gold – $1.7 million ($24.6 million total)
NOTE: These numbers are weekend estimates based on Friday and Saturday’s estimated takes. Actual numbers for the three-day weekend are reported on Monday afternoon.