“Batman v Superman” drops in 2nd week, but still tops box office

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" is flying down fast. After setting records last week with $166 million opening gross, the movie dropped 68% to an estimated $52.4 million in its second week for a current domestic total of $261.5 million, AceShowbiz reports.

This, however, is unsurprising since the movie earned not-so-favorable reviews from critics and a lukewarm B CinemaScore, AceShowbiz said. Its predecessor "Man of Steel" which was also directed by Zack Snyder had the same fate when it opened to $116.6 million in June 2013 before falling 65% in its second week.

"It is a pretty significant drop, but this was expected," says Paul Dergarabedian, comScore's senior media analyst. With more than $681 million worldwide, "you have to consider it a box office winner, but on the critical front, it took a pretty hard beating. This was the poster child for that disconnect between critics and fans," he adds.

"Batman v Superman" manages to maintain its reign at North American box office due to lack of challenge from newcomers. "God's Not Dead 2" debuts at No. 4 with an estimated $8.1 million, slightly below its first film that opened to $9.2 million in March 2014. Mike Epps-starring parody "Meet the Blacks" can't even enter the top 5, placing eighth with approximately $4.1 million.

Back to the top 5, "Zootopia" is unmoved at No. 2 with additional $20 million, dropping only 16.7% from last week. "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2" also stays at No. 3 with approximately $11.1 million. "Miracles from Heaven", meanwhile, drops one spot to No. 5 with an estimated $7.6 million.

"For that film to be doing this well is a testament to how loyal and passionate the faith-based audience is," Dergarabedian says of "Miracles from Heaven" starring Jennifer Garner and Queen Latifah. "Closing in on $50 million, it's a total moneymaking machine."