Weekend Box Office Roundup (May 25-28)

I always hate when box office stories give holiday weekend grosses as if they were comparable to the usual three-day weekend grosses. A four-day weekend is obviously not the same thing as a three-day weekend. Because of this, this Weekend Box Office Roundup will feature both the three-day gross and the four-day gross. Do whatever you want with the four-day gross numbers — we're only talking about three-day grosses here.

1. Men in Black 3 (N)
$55.00 million/$70.00 million ($70.00 million)
Will Smith and Men in Black 3 finally did what Dark Shadows, The Dictator and Battleship couldn't do — knock The Avengers from the top of the box office. Men in Black 3's opening three-day weekend was actually the best of the Men in Black series by a few million, but in paled in comparison to Smith's last blockbuster. I Am Legend, which premiered back in 2007, opened to $77.21 million.

I'm very curious to see how Kristen Stewart's Snow White and the Huntsman does next week. A movie like Men in Black 3 that opened with $55.00 million could fall to a movie that brings in $40 million the following week. Smith has always been helped by holiday weekends — how will Men in Black 3 do during a normal weekend?

2. The Avengers (1)

$36.80 million/$46.88 million ($523.56 million)

I would say that The Avengers had a good run as No. 1, but that would be a huge understatement. The Avengers had a historic run as No. 1, smashing just about every box office record it could. Biggest opening weekend, biggest second weekend, fastest to every mark it's passed so far. The Avengers is now No. 4 on the all-time domestic box office list and will pass The Dark Knight for No. 3 this week. Will The Dark Knight Rises avenge its fallen box office predecessor? (Dibs on that headline if it happens.)

3. Battleship (2)

$10.90 million/$13.77 million ($47.27 million)
If it wasn't clear last week, it should be absolutely clear now — Battleship is an epic flop, the 21st Century Waterworld. Someone at Universal Pictures is going to lose their job over this one. Taylor Kitsch's brief time as a leading man is probably over too. He'll be on a network TV show within five years.

4. The Dictator (3)

$9.28 million/$11.76 million ($43.60 million)

Speaking of leading men, Sacha Baron Cohen's time as a leading man just might be over too. The actor isn't able to do the ambush form of comedy that he perfected with Borat, and The Dictator showed that his brand of comedy doesn't work when it's forced to conform to a script. 

5. Chernobyl Diaries (N)

$7.97 million/$9.30 million ($9.30 million)

The Chernobyl Diaries was made on a $1 budget, so we can chalk up another win for producer Oren Peli. The creator and director of Paranormal Activity obviously knows how to crank out cheap movies that more than make their money back at the box office.

Next week's predictions:

1. Snow White and the Huntsman

2. Men in Black 3

3. The Avengers

4. Battleship

5. Chernobyl Diaries

SOURCE: Box Office Mojo