It cost $170 million to produce – nearly as much as “X-Men: Apocalypse”.
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“X-Men: Apocalypse” is the only movie in the franchise that has failed to earn up to $100 on its opening weekend. But when news broke of domestic abuse charges filed against the film’s star Johnny Depp – just days before “Alice” opened in theaters – the timing couldn’t be worse.
Another comic book-themed flick, Captain America: Civil War, was fourth with US$15.1 million, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.
While 20 Century Fox is having an impressive weekend earning $80 million for X-Men: Apocalypse and beating out Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass ($34.2 million), according to studio estimates, four of Disney’s most recent releases are still in top ten.
Senior media analyst for comScore Paul Dergarabedian said it was hard to quantify how much the fortunes of Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass turned Friday afternoon when news of Heard’s allegations spread.
After dismal reviews, director James Bobin’s movie took an estimated $US35 million ($49 million) from more than 3760 cinemas over the weekend in the U.S. – 70 per cent behind Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland when it was a major 3D event after the release of Avatar.
Final numbers are still being tallied, but even though this year’s Memorial Day topped last year’s holiday, at just over $200 million in total grosses, it trails the record of $314.2 million established in 2013. However, there is still time for Alice to bounce back, as there has been a lot of competition at the Box Office.
“It’s a disappointing weekend for Alice”, Walt Disney Pictures’ distribution chief Dave Hollis says. With two new flicks arriving, “X-Men: Apocalypse” and “Alice Through the Looking Glass” it should have been a fight to the finish. We’ll continue to take those big bets. “Alice Through the Looking Glass has killed her off”.
Rounding out the top five was the comedy “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising” with about $11 million.
The Angry Birds Movie had its wings clipped a bit, dropping 51 percent its second week.
Total box-office returns in the US and Canada for the holiday weekend were a little over $200 million, according to comScore.
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Figures released yesterday show the film made US$28.1 million ($41.8 million) over the weekend in the US.
