"Alien: Covenant" Edges Out "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" for #1 Spot

[JamesG]

Alien: Covenant Narrowly Edges Out Guardians of the Galaxy 2 To Top Weekend Box Office
by Brad Brevet
May 21, 2017


It's a tight race at the top as weekend estimates have Alien: Covenant holding a narrow lead over Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 for the #1 spot at the weekend box office.

Considering Guardians has been underestimated the past two weekends by $1.46 million and $2.25 million, tomorrow afternoon's actuals will be something to look out for as less than $1 million separates the two films.

Meanwhile, WB and MGM's Everything, Everything delivered on the high end of industry expectations while Fox's Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul will be looking to next weekend, hoping the upcoming four-day holiday will improve what was a rather weak debut.







At #1, Fox's Alien: Covenant debuted with an estimated $36 million, nearly 43% of which came from its Friday performance, which included $4.2 million from Thursday previews. An opening less than $40 million is somewhat disappointing considering the $51 million opening for its predecessor, Prometheus, five years ago.

Yet, the $97 million budget for Covenant compared to the $130m spent on Prometheus works in the film's favor as does the fact more than 68% of Prometheus's $403.4 million global total came from overseas markets, which is where Covenant will be hoping to make up some ground.

Internationally, Covenant got its start last weekend and this weekend it brought in an estimated $30.3 million from 76 markets bringing its international total to $81.8 million for a global cume of $117.8 million.







In second is Disney and Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which topped $300 million domestically this weekend with an estimated $35.1 million, only a 46% drop compared to last weekend.

Internationally, the film is now up to $431 million, 19% ahead of the total run of Guardians of the Galaxy at today's exchange rates. The global cume as of today currently stands at an estimated $732.6 million.







In third is WB and MGM's Everything, Everything, which proved Mojo's forecast was way too low as it brought in an estimated $12 million, which is at the high end of industry expectations for the weekend.

Opening day audiences took to the film as it earned an "A-" CinemaScore, a grade, unsurprisingly, largely driven by the female audience, which made up 82% of the opening weekend crowd.

The film carries a reported $10 million production budget.







The second weekend of the Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn comedy Snatched dipped a little steeper than we expected, dropping 61% for an estimated $7.6 million following its Mother's Day weekend debut last week.

Given its strong performance last Sunday this isn't much of a surprise, though it does sting a bit as the $42 million production now stands at $32.7 million domestically and isn't showing signs it won't likely have very long legs in North America.

Internationally, Snatched is up to $7.2 million.







Rounding out the top five is yet another Fox feature, this time the fourth film in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid franchise, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul.

The film debuted with an estimated $7.2 million from 3,157 locations, which is well below industry expectations and the "B" CinemaScore doesn't exactly make things any better. Yet, the film can still hope for a strong performance next weekend as more kids will be out of school over the Memorial Day holiday.







Elsewhere in the top ten, WB's King Arthur: Legend of the Sword dropped 55% for an estimated $6.85 million bringing its domestic cume to just over $27 million.

Meanwhile, the $175 million budgeted feature brought in an estimated $27.7 million internationally from 64 markets, bringing its international cume to $66.2 million for a global gross-to-date of $93.4 million with a June 17 release Japan up next.







Additionally, Disney's Beauty and the Beast brought in an estimated $2.4 million as its domestic cume is now just shy of $500 million, soon to become only the eighth film to cross that mark.

Overall, the film has now entered the all-time top ten worldwide, surpassing Iron Man 3 with $1.22 billion globally.

Speaking of worldwide cumes, Universal's The Fate of the Furious added over $10 million globally this weekend, bringing it's worldwide cume to $1.212 billion as it currently sits in twelfth position on the all-time list, slowly creeping on Iron Man 3, just $2.23 million behind.







In limited release, IFC's Wakefield brought in an estimated $14,120 from one theater; PBS released Abacus: Small Enough to Jail into one theater where it grossed an estimated $13,626; and Cohen Media re-released James Ivory's Maurice into one theater where it grossed an estimated $6,013.

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=4294&p=.htm









May 19-21, 2017 Weekend Studio Estimates:


1. Alien: Covenant $36,000,000
2. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 $35,062,000 / $301,799,474
3. Everything, Everything $12,000,000
4. Snatched $7,600,000 / $32,782,600
5. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul $7,200,000
6. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword $6,850,000 / $27,201,221
7. The Fate of the Furious $3,173,565 / $219,883,865
8. The Boss Baby $2,800,000 / $166,152,550
9. Beauty and the Beast $2,403,000 / $497,782,049
10. How to be a Latin Lover $2,200,000 / $29,458,810