Box Office Report: Wolverine Starts Summer Off With $87 Million Weekend

Whoever thought that the leaked version of X-Men Origins: Wolverine was going to hurt it’s box office gross can eat their words. Summer is officially here and Wolverine has started the season off with a bang. From Friday to Sunday, Wolverine grossed an estimated $87 million. This was right around most predictions (including mine which was $90 million.) The movie also falls right around the opening of X2:X-Men United which made $85 million it’s opening weekend in 2003. The number did fall short of X-Men 3: The Last Stand which hit $102 million it’s first weekend in 2006. With an $87 million opening Wolverine definitely started the summer movie season off right. Continue reading for a full box office report.

When a leaked version of Wolverine hit the net last month many people were skeptical that the film could perform to its full potential. Those who watched the film were unimpressed with it’s quality and because of that word of mouth spread that the film was terrible. While reviews for the film have not been very positive, the box office gross does not reflect a downward trend. Rotten Tomatoes is reporting only a 37% fresh rating which is not good but clearly didn’t hurt the movie.  In fact the movie met expectations with its first weekend gross. The problem for the movie is not opening weekend but how it will perform over time. With Star Trek opening next weekend Wolverine should see a very big decline in ticket sales.

The rest of the weekend box office looked like this:

Matthew McConaughey’s new romantic comedy Ghosts of Girlfriends Past opened with an expected total of $15.3 million for a number two finish. Not bad for a movie which had to compete with Wolverine. While the two movies play to different markets, it is safe to say that most women still chose Wolverine over McConaughey. The number three spot went to Obsessed which dropped 57% in its second weekend. The movie still managed to make an impressive $12.2 million. 17 Again was number four with $6.3 million in the bank and Monsters Vs. Aliens rounded out the top five with $5.8 million.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine now holds the record for highest first weekend gross this year. Beating out last months Fast and Furious sequel, Wolverine may be able to hold the title for a little while, but with competition this summer from Transformers and Harry Potter, look for that number to get smashed.

Next week we will predict and report on J.J Abrams’ Star Trek which opens on Friday May 8th. Summer has begun and it looks to be a great three months!