LOS ANGELES: The X-Men mutant superheroes smashed into US and Canadian theaters and collected $90.7m in ticket sales through yesterday, keeping monster hit Godzilla at bay and heading toward a decisive win over a long holiday weekend.
X-Men: Days of Future Past was expected to bring in $110m by the end of the US Memorial Day holiday today, distributor 20th Century Fox said. The movie has already earned a global total of $261.8m after opening at No. 1 in all 119 countries around the world.
Last week’s winner, monster movie remake Godzilla, dropped to second place with $31.4m through yesterday, according to estimates from box office tracking firm Rentrak. Its sales were projected to reach $39m by today. Romantic comedy Blended claimed the No. 3 spot, taking in $14.2m and on pace for about $17m through today.
X-Men: Days of Future Past is the seventh movie in the blockbuster Marvel Comics franchise about mutant superheroes. In the latest instalment, Hugh Jackman’s sharp-clawed Wolverine travels back in time to try and save the mutants from future destruction. To alter history, he is drawn into battle with the blue, shape-shifting Mystique, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence in the $200m film. The movie scored the fifth-biggest Memorial Day weekend opening in history, Rentrak said.
Godzilla, a remake of the classic 1954 Japanese monster movie, stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson as a naval officer who battles the rampaging beast. “The film is holding strong even with huge competition in the marketplace and will have just under $160m in North America through today,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak.
Blended reunites Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore as single parents who have a bad blind date, then find themselves staying at the same African resort with their kids.
Rounding out the chart leaders, the Seth Rogen comedy Neighbors landed in fourth place with $13.9m. Superhero sequel The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was fifth with $7.8m. X-Men was released by 20th Century Fox, a unit of Twenty-First Century Fox.
Reuters
