‘Captain America’ to Dominate With $77 Million Weekend as ‘Money Monster’ Aims for $15 Million

The second weekend of “Captain America: Civil War” is showing plenty of holding power and heading for about $77 million at 4,426 U.S. locations, early Friday estimates showed.

Sony’s opening of George Clooney’s thriller “Money Monster” was performing well above recent estimates with a $15 million frame at 3,104 sites. It banked a moderate $600,000 on Thursday night at 2,387 U.S. locations, and was heading for as much as $6 million on Friday in the wake of the film’s world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival out of competition.

BH Tilt’s horror-thriller “The Darkness,” starring Kevin Bacon and Radha Mitchell, is also launching this weekend and should gross about $5 million at 1,754 sites.

“Captain America: Civil War” remains the dominant player with a Friday gross of about $22 million. The tentpole opened with $179.1 million last weekend and looks likely to decline about 57% to about $77 million —  equivalent to what “Avengers: Age of Ultron” took in a year ago during the same weekend.

“Captain America: Civil War” is headed for an elite list — the roster of titles that have exceeded $70 million in their second weekend. That list is headed by “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” with $149 million, “Jurassic World” with $106.6 million, “Marvel’s The Avengers” with $103.1 million, “Avengers: Age of Ultron” with $77.7 million, “Avatar” with $75.6 million and “The Dark Knight” with $75.2 million.

“Captain America: Civil War” grossed $223.3 million domestically in its first seven days as of Thursday, while the international box office has hit $564.9 million following its April 27 launch in many foreign markets. China is the leader at $124 million.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with ComScore, said that the two openers face a tough task.

“It’s always tough to stand in the shadow of Marvel, but the newcomers will do their best to at least provide something new and ‘non-sequelized’ to moviegoers looking for something different, and in the case of ‘Money Monster,’ a movie aimed at a more mature audience during this season with fare mostly focused on the younger crowd,” he added.

“Money Monster” centers on Clooney’s TV financial guru who’s taken hostage on the air. Julia Roberts plays the show’s producer who has to scramble to save his life. The film isn’t a risky proposition for Sony, given its $27 million budget.

As for “The Darkness,” it carries a smallish $4 million budget and is taking advantage of the opening day also being Friday the 13th. The release label BH tilt was launched by Jason Blum’s horror company Blumhouse to find efficient ways to handle movies aimed at the dedicated horror audience.

Spending on “The Darkness” is designed so that the film will be a financial success if it opens in the $4-5 million range.

 ~Variety