X-Men sequel tops Avatar as Fox’s biggest global debut

LOS ANGELES: Mutant superhero movie X-Men: Days of Future Past powered to $302 million in worldwide ticket sales through the US Memorial Day holiday on Monday, capping a weekend in which it surpassed Avatar as the biggest global debut for film studio 20th Century Fox.

The seventh installment in the X-Men franchise topped US and Canadian movie charts with $111.0 million from Friday through Monday, according to estimates from tracking firm Rentrak. The film earned an additional $191.0 million at theatres around the world, Fox said.

The X-Men sequel was boosted by strong reviews, including a 91 percent positive rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website, and an “A” grade in audience polling by CinemaScore, Fox executives said. The film drew an ethnically diverse audience that was 56 percent male and 44 percent female, said Spencer Klein, senior vice president and general sales manager for 20th Century Fox, a unit of 21st Century Fox.

From Friday through Sunday, X-Men racked up global ticket sales that beat the December 2009 debut of Fox’s Avatar, the sci-fi adventure that started with $241.5 million worldwide and became the best-selling movie of all time, grossing $2.8 billion, according to Box Office Mojo.

X-Men collected global sales of $261.8 million over its first three days in 119 territories, including $37.7 million in China, the world’s second-largest film market. Avatar did not open in China during its first weekend of release.

In the latest installment in the Marvel Comics series, Hugh Jackman’s sharp-clawed Wolverine travels back in time to try and save the mutants from future destruction. To alter history, he is drawn into battle with the blue, shape-shifting Mystique, portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence in the $200 million production.

The stampede of X-Men knocked monster hit Godzilla to second place at US and Canadian theatres. The remake of the 1954 Japanese film took in $39.4 million domestically from Friday through Monday, and brought its global total to $324.5 million, according to Warner Bros., which produced Godzilla with Legendary Pictures.

New romantic comedy Blended came in third, falling short of forecasts with $18.2 million in domestic ticket sales through Monday. The movie stars Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler as single parents on vacation with their kids at an African resort. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 30^th, 2014.

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