Batman V Superman Passes Man of Steel, But Can't Beat The Boss At the Box Office

The results are in and, as predicted, it came down to the wire to determine whether Batman V [...]

the-boss

The results are in and, as predicted, it came down to the wire to determine whether Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice would win its third week at the box office, or fall to Melissa McCarthy's newest mid-budget comedy The Boss.

Batman V Superman, which fell 69% from its first week to its second, was projected for about a 60% fall in weeks two to three. That made it vulnerable to McCarthy's drawing power, which typically opens somewhere between $22 million and $30 million regardless of reviews or promotion.

The film actually dropped just 54%, earning a $23.4 million weekend -- enough to pass Man of Steel at the all-time domestic box office.

That still wasn't enough to win the weekend, as The Boss drew $23.5 million and eked out a high-profile victory at the box office.

The Boss drew an older and female audience -- people who have nothing else appealing to them at the box office right now -- and it opened with a big Friday that left it pacing ahead of Batman V Superman. Better performances for the young/male-skewing action movie over the weekend just barely failed to overcome the gap.

Finding the sweet spot in the release schedule is something McCarthy's Tammy also relied on to overcome poor reviews and mediocre word of mouth. That film was a summer release -- but it came at a time when no other female-driven comedy was in theaters and 22 Jump Street -- its most similar competition -- was in its fourth week. The result was a big enough opening to make a(n unsuccessful) run at Transformers: Age of Extinction in its second weekend.

Overall, it was a fairly tepid week at the box office, although next week it's likely to get a shot in the arm from The Jungle Book, which will compete for Batman V Superman's blockbuster dollars, and Barbershop: The Next Cut, a new R-rated comedy to keep The Boss company.

Another body blow dealt to the box office was the failure of Hardcore Henry. The film, which has been in development for years, was co-produced by U.S. and Russian companies and distributed by STX. It was shot entirely on GoPro cameras and touted itself as a new evolution in the action movie, essentially mimicking the look and feel of a first-person shooter video game. It earned only $5 million this weekend on more than 3,000 screens. The upside? It was made for only about $10 million, so with international receipts it will likely make a profit even if it's only in U.S. theaters for another week or two.

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