Weekend Box Office: Infinity War Breaks More Records as Life of the Party, Breaking In Open Average

By Chris Kavan - 05/13/18 at 08:33 PM CT

It might have been Mother's Day over the weekend, but it was Infinity War that continued to dominate while Melissa McCarthy came in under expectations but Gabrielle Union was rock solid. It was no surprise that Marvel's latest blockbuster topped the weekend, but what is truly eye-opening is its incredible international run, boosted by a monster opening in China. In fact, as it stands, Infinity War is the sole $1 billion plus international superhero film, adding to its already-impressive list of records it has broken. Even with Deadpool 2 on the way, Infinity War doesn't look to slow down much and it will be interesting to see how it does against the foul-mouthed anti-hero.

1) AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

Disney and Marvel continue to reap the benefits of Infinity War, which brought in $61.8 million for a new total of $547.8 million (with a chance to hit $550 million if it comes in a bit higher on Monday). The 46.1% drop is the third smallest drop on the third weekend for a film opening $200 million or more as well as being the 4th best third weekend of all time. It also moved up to eight place on the all-time domestic list passing the likes of Beauty and the Beast ($503 million), Rogue One ($532 million) and The Dark Knight ($534 million). It is also still on pace to top Jurassic World ($652 million) to become the biggest summer movie release of all time. If the film is looking good on the domestic front, it's absolutely crushing it internationally. Thanks to a record opening of $200 million in China (based on local currency) for any Hollywood film, Infinity War became the first superhero film to top $1 billion internationally with a new total of $1.059 billion for a global total of $1.606 billion. That China opening already tops the lifetime grosses of The Avengers, Captain America: Civil War and Iron Man 3 in that market as well as topping Age of Ultron, Furious 7 and The Avengers to move up to 5th all time on the global charts. If it can hang on in China, $2 billion worldwide is not out of the question. Even if it falls short, this continues to just be a massive film on all fronts.

2) LIFE OF THE PARTY

The latest film from husband/wife director/actor team of Ben Falcone/Melissa McCarthy may have benefited from Mother's Day and wound up in second place with the $18.5 million fell short of industry expectations and became the worst wide-opening for McCarthy in the lead role behind Tammy ($21.57 million). Still, the $30 million picture had a great weekend multiplier (3.77x) and earned a "B" Cinemascore from an overwhelming female (70%) audience that also came in 80% over 25. The big question is how it holds up after Mother's Day. If it crashed like Snatched, $45 million is about the best it can do. But $50 million is likely with an outside chance at as much as $70 million if it can hold on to that female audience. It's not going to be an easy road, but McCarthy has proven she is a draw but the film is going to earn money no matter what, so even with that career low opening, things are going to turn out fine for everyone.

3) BREAKING IN

Although it might not have been able to top Life of the Party for the Mother's Day win, Gabrielle Union's film about a mother kicking ass to save her family from some home invaders turned out much better. That's because the third-place $16.5 million opening nearly tripled the film's $6 million budget in one weekend. Just like Life of the Party, this one also got a "B" Cinemascore and also played mostly female (65%) with 53% coming in age 30 or older. Maybe we should refer to this as "Momhard with a Vengeance" from now one, as the suburban action/thriller clearly was influenced by genre made popular by Bruce Willis (and copied again and again). While it has fallen out of favor, Union proved she is a draw on her own as the film had little marketing and poor reviews (27% on Rotten Tomatoes). Even if the film also falls hard from here on out, a $35 million showing is still a great result based on the cost - and if it can climb higher, more power to it. This one is going to turn out fine as well.

4) OVERBOARD

Last week's non-Infinity War standout had a decent hold, dipping 31.3% and landing in fourth place with $10.1 million. That raises the films total to $29.5 million. That means the film has the potential to top the $44 million of Instructions Not Included to become the highest-grossing U.S. film for star Eugenio Derbez. Something that may make Derbez even happiers, however, is the film's debut in Mexico where it hit $10.5 million - the best opening for Derbez as well as the highest opening for any comedy in that country. It is the second-best opening of the year behind, what else, Infinity War. All told, I think the movie it turning out better than I expected and even with all my remake hate, Overboard probably didn't deserve all the toxicity and I hope it continues to perform well.

5) A QUIET PLACE

Rounding out the top five, the exceptional horror film dipped a mere 17.6% (the best hold out of any film not adding theaters to its count in the top 12) for a $6.4 million weekend and a new total of $169.55 million. That $175 million milestone is a lock at this point - meaning it will top Get Out in the process. It also hit $100 million internationally, with China, France and Japan still to come. While it won't get to $200 million domestic, it is still a highly-impressive total for a horror film, as it continues to prove the genre has wide-spread appeal and with generally smaller budgets, the genre remains a studio's best friend.

Outside the top five: Breaking into the top 10 after expanding the documentary RBG (exploring the life, influence and legacy of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg), took in $1.165 million, a 101.9% increase (in 180 theaters, up from just 34 last weekend) and looks to continue its run when it jumps to 350 theaters next weekend.

Next weekend, Deadpool 2 will become the largest R-rated opening of all time when it drops into 4,250 theaters (as opposed to the 4,103 locations for previous title-holder It). Also opening is the comedy Show Dogs and the female-driven Book Club.

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