By Erich Schwartzel
Captain America was again embraced by his countrymen at the box
office this weekend, retaining the top spot despite fresh
competition from a popular animated sequel and the latest
microbudget horror film.
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier," the latest offering from
Walt Disney Co.'s Marvel Studios, collected an estimated $41.4
million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic gross to $159
million. The superhero movie, starring Chris Evans, has taken in an
additional $317.7 million overseas. The sequel has already
surpassed the global box-office haul of the original released in
2011.
Heading into the weekend, many analysts thought "Rio 2," from
Blue Sky Studios and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox, had the
best chance of knocking "Captain America" off its perch. But the
animated sequel about a family of wild birds in Brazil premiered in
second place with a solid $39 million. (Fox is owned by 21st
Century Fox Inc., which until recently was part of the same company
as The Wall Street Journal.)
Fox faced tough competition from Mother Nature, as many cities
registered double-digit temperature increases on Saturday.
"When you have a day like [Saturday], you grab the kids and go
outside," said Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution at
Fox. As a result, the studio saw its Saturday returns increase 28%
over Friday--far below the 69% boost that the original "Rio"
registered.
Still, the overall opening weekend performance of "Rio 2" is on
par with the original "Rio" opening of $39.2 million in 2011. Blue
Sky's films, which also include the "Ice Age" franchise, typically
perform better in international markets. The original "Rio" grossed
$143.6 million domestically, but collected $341 million overseas.
"Rio 2" looked poised to repeat that proportion, so far collecting
more than $125 million over several weeks in international markets.
The movie features the voices of Jesse Eisenberg and Anne
Hathaway.
"Oculus," about a family grappling with a haunted mirror,
debuted in third place with $12 million. The latest microbudget
horror offering was picked up for domestic distribution at the
Toronto International Film Festival last September for $2.5 million
by Relativity Media LLC and Blumhouse Productions. It had a budget
of under $5 million.
The "Captain America" sequel most likely tore away some of the
young-male audience for "Oculus" and the weekend's other new
release, "Draft Day," the Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. movie
starring Kevin Costner as an NFL general manager. "Draft Day"
premiered in fourth place with a weak $9.8 million.
Write to Erich Schwartzel at erich.schwartzel@wsj.com
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