Weekend Box Office: June 17 - 19

Courtesy of Box Office Mojo:

1.  Green Lantern - $53.1 million

2.  Super 8 - $21.4 million

3.  Mr. Popper's Penguins - $18.4 million

4.  X-Men: First Class - $11.9 million

5.  The Hangover Part II - $10 million

6.  Kung Fu Panda 2 - $9 million

7.  Bridesmaids - $7 million

8.  Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - $6.6 million

9.  Midnight in Paris - $4.8 million

10.  Judy Moody and the NOT Bummer Summer - $2.1 million 

Well...that could have gone better.  Green Lantern, Warner Bros' massively-budgeted attempt to start a big franchise with a DC Comics character who is not Superman or Batman fell a bit flat this weekend, earning a so-so $53.1 million.  That's behind the opening weekends of Thor's $65 million (which, like Green Lantern, had the benefit of 3D), and X-Men: First Class' $55 million (which did not have 3D).  More alarming was the 22% drop from Friday to Saturday, which meant word-of-mouth just wasn't very good, and doesn't bode well for next weekend, when Cars 2 arrives to drive off with the family crowd.

I liked Green Lantern.  Not as much as First Class (my favorite of the summer so far) or Thor, but it was fun and it certainly wasn't the abomination most of the mainstream critics made it out to be.

It wasn't such a great weekend for Jim Carrey, either, as Mr. Popper's Penguins opened with a lackluster $18.4 million.  That movie couldn't even surpass last week's champ, Super 8, which held up well in its second weekend with $21.5 million.  That's only a 39% drop from last week, which would indicate that word of mouth is good for this one, and even though it won't be breaking any box office records, it seems to be the go-to movie for audiences who are sick of 3D and superheros.

In its third weekend, X-Men: First Class grossed an $11.9 million, bringing it to $120 million stateside, making it so far the lowest-grossing film of the series.  Sigh.  Worldwide, the movie has made $282 million. 

The Hangover Part II has officially become the highest-grossing film of 2011, adding $10 million to bring its domestic total up to $223 million.  Pirates 4 is the 2011 runner-up with $220 million, and worldwide the movie has made a staggering $952 million.  I liked Pirates 4, but seriously...that is just insane.  Expect Transformers and Harry Potter to push both of thos films out of the way in the next few weeks.

Next weekend, Lightning McQueen and Mater return in Cars 2, which is already getting some nice early reviews.  Will Pixar have another hit?  Of course they will, why do we even ask this question anymore?  Also, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, will start up their IMAX screenings even earlier now (if they bump up this release any more, they'll have the DVD out before it hits theaters), with IMAX showings now starting at 9pm on June 28.  I'm sure the decision to give it an early start had nothing to do with this looming to take over a mere two weeks later.  Nothing whatsover.