The Elizabeth Banks-directed Pitch Perfect 2, the sequel to the 2012 film, became the latest number one hit of the year, as the Anna Kendrick-starring feature displaced the reigning champion Avengers: Age of Ultron with a total of $70.3 million. The Marvel feature, while falling to third place on the box office chart, still earned $38.8 million over the weekend, enough to leapfrog it above Furious 7 as the highest grossing feature of 2015 to date. The other big opener of the weekend, the George Miller-directed Mad Max: Fury Road, rounded out the top three by landing in second place with a total of $44.4 million.
Last weekend’s fifth place finisher Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 continued to hold steady in the same spot this weekend with a total of $3.6 million, tying it with Furious 7, while Hot Pursuit fell to fourth place in its second weekend, earning $5.8 million in a sharp dropoff from the aforementioned third place total of Avengers: Age of Ultron. The Dreamworks animated feature Home ended up in the top ten for the eighth straight weekend, finishing in eighth place, while the Blake Lively-starring The Age of Adaline dropped from third place for the first time in its theatrical run, finishing in seventh place instead. Alex Garland’s Ex Machina continued to stay in the top ten, snagging the ninth place, while Thomas Vinterberg’s Far from the Madding Crowd, despite being in limited release, still managed to secure a spot on the chart by finishing in tenth place.
Among limited releases, the biggest opener was Where Hope Grows, which made $489,500 from 276 theatres, giving it a PSA of $1,773. The other big impact limited release opening, however, was the Blythe Danner-starring I’ll See You In My Dreams, which earned $49,340 in three theatres for a PSA of $16,477. The Andrew Niccol feature Good Kill opened in two theatres, making $17,200 for a PSA of $8,600, while the Michael Fassbender-starring Slow West garnered $10,500 from a two-theatre opening, earning a PSA of $5,750 to go with its VOD revenue. The addiction drama Animals made $12,000 in ten theatres, giving it a PSA of $1,200, while the documentary Dark Star: H.R. Giger’s World earned $8,000 in five theatres for a PSA of $1,600.
The top earners at the US box office for the weekend are as follows:
- Pitch Perfect 2 — $70,300,000
- Mad Max: Fury Road — $44,440,000
- Avengers: Age of Ultron — $38,837,000
- Hot Pursuit — $5,780,000
- Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 — $3,600,000
- Furious 7 — $3,600,000
- The Age of Adaline — $3,200,000
- Home — $2,700,000
- Ex Machina — $2,103,000
- Far from the Madding Crowd — $1,300,000