Two new superhero movies injected a shot of adrenaline into Hollywood’s bottom line this weekend.
“Wonder Woman” was on track to open with a $100.5 million take, and “Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie” would have a $23.5 million debut, according to studio projections.
The two movies pulled Hollywood out of a minor summer malaise. Movie analyst Paul Dergarabedian at comScore said they provide “a much-needed solid summer weekend at the box office, that is up 30 percent versus the same weekend a year ago.”
“Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” dropped 66 percent from its opening performances. It was on track for a $21.6 million weekend, and $114.6 million in sales over 10 days.
And “Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2” was on track for a $9.7 million weekend, bringing its five-week total to $355.5 million.
Rounding out the 10 most-popular films in the U.S. and Canada, as estimated by the studios and collated by comScore, were “Baywatch” ($8.5 million), “Alien: Covenant” ($4 million), “Everything, Everything” ($3.3 million), “Snatched” ($1.3 million), “Diary Of A Wimpy Kid” ($1.2 million) and “King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword” $1.2 million).
–City News Service