LOS ANGELES -- Disney's Avengers: Endgame continued its dominance for a third weekend in a row, adding $63.1 million (a 57% drop) for a cumulative $723.5 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.
Internationally, the film earned $102.3 million last weekend for a global cumulative total of $2.5 billion. It stands as the No. 2 movie of all time behind only Avatar ($2.7 billion).
Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures' Pokémon Detective Pikachu premiered in second place, with $58 million, above analysts' predictions of $55 million.
The film, which mixes live-action and computer animation, cost an estimated $150 million to make. It earned an A-minus CinemaScore and a 63% fresh rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. Ryan Reynolds voices the titular character.
"What a terrific result," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. head of domestic distribution. "It's so much fun to watch Detective Pikachu have this kind of opening."
And there's no bad blood that Endgame powered past Pikachu in the end.
"It was fun to win Friday night, but as they say in golf, you play your own game and I'm thrilled with our result," Goldstein added.
It even beat Endgame internationally by a very slight margin with $103 million, for a global cumulative of $170.4 million.
"Typically movies based on video games haven't been all that successful," Goldstein said.
In third place, MGM's comedy The Hustle, from United Artists Releasing, opened with $13.5 million. Starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson as scammers, it earned poor reviews, with a B-minus CinemaScore and a 16% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Columbia's The Intruder, a thriller that opened as the top non-Avengers movie a week ago, brought in an additional $6.6 million this weekend to land in fourth place.
Rounding out the top five, Lionsgate's Long Shot added $6.1 million in its second weekend for a cumulative $19.7 million.
Also new over the weekend, STX Entertainment's comedy Poms opened at No. 6 with $5.1 million. The film stars Diane Keaton as a recent addition to a retirement community who starts a cheerleading squad with fellow residents. Directed by Zara Hayes and co-starring Pam Grier and Jacki Weaver, it received a B-plus CinemaScore and a 29% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
At No. 7, the studio's Uglydolls added $3.9 million in its second weekend for a total $14.3 million.
In eighth place, Fox's faith-based film Breakthrough added $2.5 million in its fourth weekend for a cumulative $37.1 million.
In smaller releases, Tolkien, a bio-pic about the Lord of the Rings author starring Nicholas Hoult opened in ninth place on 1,495 screens with $2.2 million, while the documentary The Biggest Little Farm debuted in five locations and earned $101,012.
Rounding out the top 10, Disney's Captain Marvel added $1.8 million in its 10th weekend for a cumulative $423.8 million.
And while not every film was a hit last weekend, the diversity of content is important to the marketplace, noted Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. Overall, the industrywide box office continues to get stronger as the year goes on. The weekend is up around 23%, and the year is down around 9%. Three weeks ago, pre-Endgame, that year-to-date deficit was at 17%.
"It should never be about just one type of movie," Dergarabedian said. "That used to be the thing about summer, it was about drawing in the 18- to 24-year-olds with superhero movies and action movies. In today's world, summer offers a much more eclectic and diverse mix and that's paying dividends for Hollywood."
In limited release, Neon debuted the documentary The Biggest Little Farm at five sites for $101,012 and a per-screen average of $20,202. It earned a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Sony Pictures Classics released the Kenneth Branagh drama All Is True on four screens for $46,809 and a per-screen average of $11,702. The movie, which Branagh directed and stars in as William Shakespeare, marks the filmmaker's return to the art house after four big budget releases; it earned a 73% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
IFC Film's Charlie Says opened in 39 locations with $39,114, a disappointing per-screen average of $1,003. It earned a 47% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
May has more big movies to come, including Aladdin, Rocketman, 'John Wick 3: Parabellum and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
"May could be a monster at the box office," Dergarabedian said.
MovieStyle on 05/17/2019