NEW YORK Johnny Depps Alice Through the Looking Glass bombed over the Memorial Day weekend with just $28.1 million through Sunday in North American theaters, while X-Men: Apocalypse debuted on top with an estimated $65 million.
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The anticipated showdown of the two big-budget films turned out to be little contest for 20th Century Fox’s latest “X-Men” installment.
The movie opened as Heard was granted a restraining order after alleging Depp had assaulted her throughout their 15-month marriage.
The movie was expected to make in excess of $55 million (£37.6 million), and did even worse than “Tomorrowland”, which also flopped past year over the four-day Memorial Day weekend holiday – it made $42 million (£28 million) for Disney and barely made back its production budget.
The film cost $170 million to produce, and has been ravaged by critics, although it nabbed an A- CinemaScore from moviegoers.
X-Men: Apocalypse was forecast to generate $69 million over three days and $82 million over four days, according to analysts at BoxOfficePro.com, while the studio was predicting more than $80 million through Monday.
“It’s disappointing and it’s head scratching to a certain degree”, said Dave Hollis, Disney’s distribution chief. The Marvel Cinematic Universe film felt the bit of X-Men Apocalypse but its fall was still relatively light considering. We have embarked on a branded tentpole strategy that makes big bets. It’s a good thing there wasn’t any money wagered on that bet, because one side of the equation looks to have lost out big time, as the Disney sequel is in pretty deep trouble after its first weekend in theaters.
Disney’s Alice in Wonderland sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass, effectively put an end to the franchise – at least with this cast. The film has opened in 72% of the global market, with France (June 1), Japan (July 1), and South Korea (Sept. 8) still on deck.
Deadline Hollywood noted that 35 per cent of moviegoers cited Depp as the major reason for seeing Through the Looking Glass, well down on the51 per cent who said the star was the reason they saw Alice in Wonderland six years ago. However, it took in $30 million less than 2014’s “X-Men: Days of Future Past“. James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne and Lucas Till are among those reprising their roles, while a raft of new actors joins the franchise.
Sony’s “The Angry Birds Movie” took third place in its second weekend of release, earning approximately $19 million, to bring its domestic haul to roughly $72 million.
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Jon Favreau’s The Jungle Book rang up $319,559 over the weekend and has now made $29.1 million after seven weeks, while eOne’s Florence Foster Jenkins has made $3.1 after four. Where available, the latest global numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.
