Weekend Box Office: Can't stop the Endgame
Avengers: Endgame topped the domestic U.S box office this past weekend, just like we all figured it would, and will continue to do for a little while—a safe guess would be the end of the month, when a different sort of juggernaut event picture with an all-star cast, Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, hits theaters on May 30. Or will Aladdin take the top spot on the 24—not that it matters to the Disney bean counters, who are getting absolutely deluged with beans this month no matter what? Anyway, as much as we enjoy our ongoing bits about Detective Pikachu being a gritty, street-hardened detective, if that film takes the top spot this week, that’ll be surprising. Fun, but surprising. Same for John Wick: Chapter 3—Parabellum the week after.
So far, Endgame has pulled in more than $619 million domestically and $2 billion worldwide, making it the ninth-largest domestic film release and second-biggest global release of all time after 10 days. It’s only got about $600 million to go before it dethrones Avatar as No. 1, so even if you don’t see the movie as a fan, or to keep up with the cultural conversation, or because someone else wants to go and you’re a good friend, you could go buy a ticket just to spite Avatar, if that’s the kind of person you are. Anyway, that’s all for this week, see you all—
Ah, well, if we must. Three other wide-release movies, The Intruder, UglyDolls, and Long Shot, came out in theaters this weekend; aside from The Intruder, all of them underperformed, suggesting that, while America’s appetite for sock puppets and schlubby dudes with outsized ambitions might be waning, a Quaidissance is still possible. The Intruder pulled in $11 million in its opening weekend, less than one-tenth Endgame’s $145.8 million haul but only $750,000 more than Long Shot. The Intruder’s victory grows more decisive when you take into account the relative number of screens, however: framed another way, it still beat Long Shot by $750,000 despite opening on 1,008 fewer theater screens. No matter which way you look at it, however, UglyDolls flopped, with a fourth-place, $8.5 million debut on more screens than either Long Shot or The Intruder. Until next week, sock puppets.