Warner Bros. feature “The Great Gatsby” opens to $51.1 million over Mother's Day weekend, coming in second place to Disney’s “Iron Man 3,” which follows up its record-breaking U.S. debut with $72.5 million.
Thanks to a strong marketing campaign, The Great Gatsby opened to $51.1 million over Mother's Day weekend, but that wasn't enough to claim first place from Iron Man 3, which followed up its record-breaking debut with another very strong outing.
Iron Man 3 brought in $72.5 million at the North American box office this weekend, the fourth-highest second weekend ever behind The Avengers, Avatar and The Dark Knight. To date, Iron Man 3 has earned $284.9 million domestically, and is easily headed to bring in over $400 million.
Overseas, Iron Man 3 added $89.3 million for a total of $664.1 million. Worldwide, the film’s tally is at $949 million, and is on track to cross the $1 billion mark by Friday.
In second place, Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby's $51.1 million debut ranks as the third-highest second place debut ever behind The Day After Tomorrow ($68.7 million, behind Shrek 2) and Sherlock Holmes ($62.3 million, behind Avatar). The Warner Bros. 3D adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel stars Leonardo DiCaprio opposite Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire and Joel Edgerton, and features a modern-day score executive produced by Jay-Z andThe Bullitts.
Paramount’s Pain and Gain, directed by Michael Bay, took third place in its third weekend out, bringing in $5 million for a total of $41.6 million.
Lionsgate’s Tyler Perry Presents: Peeples, starring Craig Robinson and KerryWashington, came in fourth place with a $4.9 million debut.
Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros.' 42 placed fifth, grossing $4.7 million for a North American total of $84.7 million.
In other overseas box office news, a week ahead of its U.S. opening, Paramount’s Star Trek Into Darkness opened to $31.7 million from seven foreign markets this weekend.
DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods continued its run this weekend, adding $17.3 million for a new total of $360.7 million. Universal’s Oblivion expanded in to China this weekend, grossing $8.5 million. To date, the film has earned $160.9 million overseas.
Box office numbers were obtained on boxofficemojo.com.
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
