‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ electrifies with an $111 million four-day weekend

Story highlights

This debut bodes well for the next 'X-Men' planned for 2016

Adam Sandler's 'Blended' was less lucky in thrid place

"The Amazing Spider-Man 2" surpassed $675 million worldwide

EW.com  — 

The mutants might be fighting for their lives in “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” but everything is smooth-sailing for the explosive, star-studded saga at the box office.

Professor X (old and young) and his friends helped usher in a mighty $111 million domestically for “X-Men’s” first four days in theaters. It now ranks fifth among the top Memorial Day weekend openings of all time, behind last year’s “Fast & Furious 6” ($117 million) and 2006′s “X-Men: The Last Stand” ($122.9 million). The $200 million pic also opened day and date in most major markets internationally to a cool $171.1 million. Technically the seventh installment in the long-running franchise, this super debut bodes well for “X-Men: Apocalypse,” set to open on the same spot on the calendar in 2016.

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Adam Sandler was less lucky with “Blended,” which made its debut in the No. 3 spot with $18.2 million in its first four days in theaters. The $45 million PG-13 rated Warner Bros. pic suffered from dismal reviews (15 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), resulting in one of Sandler’s worst comedy openings in almost two decades. In 2011, for example, “Jack and Jill” earned $25 million in its first three days in theaters. Moviegoers seemed to enjoy “Blended” nonetheless, giving it a solid A- Cinema Score.

Holdovers include “Godzilla,” which plummeted in weekend two with an estimated $39.45 million over the four-day span, with IMAX showings (352 screens) accounting for nearly $6 million of that total. But, the Warner Bros. and Legendary pic still looks to be on track for a $200 million domestic tally.

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In fourth place, “Neighbors” netted an estimated $17.2 million over four days, bringing its domestic total to $116.9 million after three weeks in theaters. The frat boys can expect a steep decline next weekend, though, when Seth MacFarlane’s “A Million Ways to Die in the West” rides into theaters and captures comedy-seeking audiences.

Meanwhile, Sony’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” surpassed $675 million worldwide, making it the top earner of the year internationally, thanks in no small part to a massive $90.4 million and counting from China. Domestically, the webslinger took in $10 million to claim fifth place.

Here’s the top five:

1. X-Men: Days of Future Past – $111 million (domestic total: $111 million)

2. Godzilla – $39.45 million (domestic total: $156.79 million)

3. Blended – $18.19 million (domestic total: $18.19 million)

4. Neighbors – $17.2 million (domestic total: $116.88 million)

5. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 – $10 million (domestic total: $187.1 million)

In the specialty box office world, Open Road’s “Chef” whipped up $2.91 million from 498 locations, while Fox Searchlight’s period drama Belle took in $2.12 million from 453 locations, bringing its domestic total to $4.31 million.

Check in next weekend to see what happens when Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent faces off against Seth MacFarlane’s A Million Ways to Die in the West.

See the original story at EW.com.