Box office: 'Avengers' helps sink 'Battleship' [updated]

Box office: 'Avengers' helps sink 'Battleship' [updated]

The box-office debut of "Battleship" looked like a very different board game: Trouble.

Universal Pictures' $209-million alien invasion spectacle fizzled badly in its domestic premiere, grossing just $25.3 million and finishing a distant second to the third weekend of Disney's "The Avengers," according to Sunday estimates. The debut of "Battleship" â€" whose ticket sales were about 40% lower than some predictions â€" was even worse than the $30.2-million March opening of"John Carter,"one of the biggest fiascoes in Hollywood history.

"I'm hugely disappointed in this opening," said Nikki Rocco, Universal's president of domestic distribution.

"Battleship" wasn't the only new release to sink fast. Lionsgate and Alcon Entertainment's ensemble pregnancy comedy "What to Expect When You're Expecting," which cost $40 million, generated poor opening numbers of $10.5 million, about half of what some prognosticators anticipated, finishing in fifth place. Paramount Pictures' pricey Sacha Baron Cohen comedy"The Dictator" grossed a modest $17.4 million in its first three days, good for third place, but did much better overseas, which is unusual for a studio comedy.

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The returns for "The Avengers" were again extraordinary.

In taking the top spot for the third consecutive weekend with estimated sales of $55.1 million, the Disney superhero tale has become the studio's highest-grossing release of all time, with global ticket sales of $1.18 billion. On Saturday, the film surpassed "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" as Disney's top domestic release. With cumulative domestic ticket sales of $457.1 million to date, "The Avengers" is on track to surpass $600 million in domestic release and could possibly reach $700 million.

Not factoring inflation, only one other movie ever has grossed more than $700 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters â€" 2009's "Avatar,"which totaled $760.5 million. "Titanic," also from writer-director James Cameron, is the only other movie to surpass $600 million domestically, grossing $658.5 million. But "The Avengers'" consecutive grip on first place is likely to fall next weekend, when Sony's "Men in Black 3" hits multiplexes.

"The Avengers" clearly hurt "Battleship," but the latter's performance was nonetheless dreadful. Universal opened the film in many international markets about a month ago, an d the overseas returns of $226.8 million â€" while good â€" may not be strong enough to offset the meager domestic revenues. "This is not a total disaster," Rocco said.

In American and Canadian theaters, "Battleship's" audience was 57% male and 55% age 30 and older, the latter number a worrying sign of how little interest the film sparked among young moviegoers, the drivers of summer box office. The movie received a B grade on CinemaScore, another dire sign for the film's long-term prospects. Given historical patterns, "Battleship" could struggle to gross $60 million in domestic release.

In third place, the $65-million "The Dictator," a comedy about a fictional North American leader, split audiences. The film performed poorly in the South and the Midwest but turned in respectable numbers from some European markets. The film's overseas ticket sales were $30.3 million, ahead of the pace of Cohen's 2006 breakout hit "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Ben efit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan."

"It's definitely a very polarizing film," said Paramount Vice Chairman Rob Moore. The audience for "The Dictator" was 65% male and 56% under the age of 25. But ticket buyers gave it a poor CinemaScore of C.

In fourth place was Johnny Depp's"Dark Shadows" with $12.8 million, a drop of 57% from a week ago, and "What to Expect" was fifth. Lionsgate attributed some of the latter's soft sales to "The Avengers." Said David Spitz, Lionsgate's executive vice president for distribution: "The box office can only expand so much." The audience for the pregnancy movie was 70% female and 64% over the age of 25, and it received a B- from CinemaScore.

In sixth place and continuing to perform exceptionally well was Fox Searchlight's"The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,"with $3.3 million in just 354 theaters. The comedy about British pensioners, which will triple its theater c ount next weekend, so far has grossed $8.3 million domestically.

Rounding out the Top 10 were"The Hunger Games"in seventh,"Think Like a Man"in eighth,"The Lucky One"in ninth and "Pirates, The Band of Misfits" in 10th.

[Updated, 1:45 p.m. May 20: In international release, “The Avengers” continued to perform well in almost all territories. It has now grossed $72.3 million in the United Kingdom, $69.3 million in China and $56.2 million in Mexico. “Battleship” grossed another $6.5 million overseas, for a combined international take of $226.8 million. “The Dictator” opened in 29 markets, performing best in the United Kingdom, where it took in $7.2 million. Its overseas sales totaled $30.3 million. “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” approached $80 million in international sales,  having grossed more than $20 million in Australia alone.

1. "The Avengers" (Disney): $55.1 million on its third weekend, down 47%. Dome stic total: $457.1 million. $56 million overseas in 54 foreign markets. International total: $723.3 million.

2. "Battleship" (Universal): Opened with $25.3 million. $6.5 million overseas. International total: $226.8 million in 43 foreign markets.

3. "The Dictator" (Paramount): Opened with $17.4 million. Domestic total: $24.5. $30.3 million overseas in 29 foreign markets.

4. "Dark Shadows" (Warner Bros./Village Roadshow): $12.8 million on its second weekend, down 57%. Domestic total: $50.9 million.

5. "What to Expect When You're Expecting" (Lionsgate/Alcon Entertainment): Opened with $10.5 million.

6. "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" (Fox Searchlight/Mandate): $3.3 million, up 22%. Domestic total: $8.3 million.

7. "The Hu nger Games" (Lionsgate): $3 million on its ninth weekend, down 33%. Domestic total: $391.6 million.

8. "Think Like a Man" (Warner Bros./Village Roadshow): $2.7 million on its fifth weekend, down 54%. Domestic total: $85.9 million.

9. "The Lucky One" (Fox Searchlight/Mandate): $1.8 million on its fifth weekend, down 57%. Domestic total: $56.92 million.

10. "The Pirates! Band of Misfits" (Sony): $1.45 million on its fourth weekend, down 54%. Domestic total: $25.3 million.

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