“King Fu Panda 3” was the most-popular movie this weekend, with people seeking a break from Super Bowl hype flocking to movie theater relief, an analyst said Sunday.
The animated feature was projected to sell $21 million in tickets in the United States and Canada between Friday and the close of business Sunday, said Paul Dergarabedian, a movie analyst at comScore.
“As counterintuitive as it seems, Super Bowl weekend can actually be a solid one for Hollywood,” Dergarabedian said. People often seek out their local cineplex to get out of the house on a weekend with heavy event-oriented TV viewing, he explained.
The new Coen Bothers comedy starring George Clooney — “Hail Caesar!” – – opened in second place with $11.4 million in estimated sales.
Rounding out the 10 most-popular movies in North America, as estimated by the studios and collated by comScore, were “The Revenant” ($7.1 million), “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($6.9 million), “The Choice” (opening at $6 million), “Pride And Prejudice” ($5.2 million), “The Finest Hours” ($4.7 million), “Ride Along 2” ($4.5 million), “The Boy” ($4 million) and “Dirty Grandpa” ($4 million).
The data was collected by Dergarabedian and his staff at comScore, which acquired the industry analysis firm Rentrak last week.
–City News Service