‘Tomorrowland’ Slightly Better In Actuals, But Memorial Day Frame Was Still A Downer – Tuesday B.O. Update

6th UPDATE, Tuesday 4:15 PM: Disney’s Tomorrowland came in slightly higher than what was reported with $42.679M for the 4-day. With a global weekend of $74.7M, the B.O. for Tomorrowland reps anywhere from 39% to 42% of its lofty $180M-$190M budget. Not a good start. Furthermore, among Memorial Day bows, it’s way down there. In fact it’s not that far above Disney’s Memorial day opening clunker Prince Of Persia: The Sands of Time, which opened to $37.8M, cost $200M, and legged out stateside to $90.8M (3x its 3-day bow of $30M). Both Persia and Tomorrowland earned Bs, so here’s hoping that the Brad Bird film follows a similar trajectory. Total B.O. for the four-day Memorial Day frame was off 16% from a year ago with $194.4M. 2015 continues to gallop 3.5% ahead of last year at the same point in time with $4.15B. Again, as mentioned previously, Memorial Day crowds come out for the mega-franchise sequels, and really don’t walk away from a barbecue for those titles that are fresh and original. A good question is: Then why didn’t Mad Max: Fury Road launch this weekend instead of getting stepped on by Pitch Perfect 2 last weekend? Hell, that’s a franchise, or at least the beginning of one. Essentially Warner Bros. wanted the film to benefit from holiday traffic in its second frame, which it did with a a nice 3-day -46% hold, in an effort to maximize the most total B.O. possible for the film. In addition, the global launch of Mad Max was timed to its Cannes Film Festival premiere.

Next weekend, Warner Bros. looks to send shockwaves at the multiplex with its disaster film San Andreas in approximately 3,650 venues and Sony will be opening its Cameron Crowe romantic comedy Aloha starring Emma Stone and Bradley Cooper at 2,700 playdates.

The top 20 films per Rentrak Theatrical:

1). Tomorrowland (DIS), 3,970 theaters / 3-day cume: $33M / 3-day Per screen average: $8,315 / 4-day cume: $42.6M / Wk 1

2). Pitch Perfect 2 (UNI), 3,560 theaters (+87) /3-day cume: $30.8M (-55%) / 3-day per screen: $8,655 /4-day cume: $38.2M / Total cume: $125.7M / Wk 2

3). Mad Max: Fury Road (WB), 3,722 theaters (+20) / 3-day cume: $24.6M (-46) / 3-day per screen: $6,620 / 4-day cume: $31.2M/ Total cume: $94.7M / Wk 2

4). Poltergeist (Fox/MGM), 3,240 theaters / 3-day cume: $22.6M /3-day per screen average: $6,982 / 4-day cume: $26.3M / Wk 1

5). Avengers: Age Of Ultron (DIS), 3,727 theaters (-549) / 3-day cume: $21.6M (-44%)/ 3-day per screen: $5,820 / 4-day cume: $28.1M / Total cume: $411.3M / Wk 4

6). Hot Pursuit (WB/MGM/NL), 2,577 theaters (-460) / 3-day cume: $3.6M (-36%) / 3-day Per screen: $1,412 / 4-day cume: $4.5M / Total cume: $30M / Wk 3

7). Far From The Madding Crowd (FSL), 865 theaters (+576) / 3-day cume: $2.28M (+83%) / 3-day Per screen: $2,644 / 4-day cume: $2.9M / Total cume: $6.1M / Wk 4

8). Furious 7 (UNI), 1,653 theaters (-585) / 3-day cume: $2.27M (-38%)/ 3-day per screen: $1,375 / 4-day cume: $2.8M / Total cume: $347.7M/ Wk 8

9). Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 (SONY), 1,878 theaters (-754) / 3-day cume: $1.8M (-47%)/ 3-day per screen: $999 / 4-day cume: $2.6M / Total cume: $66.4M / Wk 6

10). Home (FOX/DW), 1,444 theaters (-562) / 3-day cume: $1.7M (-31%) / 3-day per screen: $1,214 / 4-day cume: $2.4M / Total cume: $168.7M/ Wk 9

11). The Age Of Adaline (LGF), 1,653 theaters (-980) / 3-day cume: $1.48M (-52%)/ 3-day per screen: $906 / 4-day cume: $1.9M / Total cume: $40.3M/ Wk 5

12). Ex Machina (A24), 896 theaters (-822) / 3-day cume: $1.4M (-33%)/ 3-day per screen: $1,570 / 4-day cume: $1.8M / Total cume: $22.3M/ Wk 7

13). Tanu Weds Manu Retur (EROS), 136 theaters / 3-day cume: 1M / 3-day per screen: $7,401 / 4-day cume: $1.2M / Wk 1

14). The Woman In Gold (TWC), 662 theaters (-214) / 3-day cume: $881K (-26%) / 3-day per screen: $1,331 / 4-day cume: $1.1M / Total cume: $30.7M / Wk 8

15). Cinderella (DIS), 356 theaters (-285) / 3-day cume: $414K (-34%)/3-day per screen: $1,163 / 4-day cume: $556K / Total cume: $197.9M / Wk 11

16). Piku (YRF), 115 theaters (-9) / 3-day cume: $333K (-44%) / 3-day per screen: $2,895 / 4-day cume: $427K / Total cume: $2.2M / Wk 3

17). I’ll See You In My Dreams (BST), 26 theaters (+23) / 3-day cume: $291K (+459%) / 3-day per screen: $11,194 / 4-day cume: $379K /Total cume: $545K / Wk 2

18). The Longest Ride (WB), 329 theaters (-474) /3-day cume: $280K / 3-day per screen: $850 / 4-day cume: $342K / Total cume: $36.8M / Wk 7

19). The Divergent Series: Insurgent (LGF), 266 theaters (-237) / 3-day cume: $249K (-35%) / 3-day per screen: $937 / 4-day cume: $317K / Total cume: $128.7M / Wk 10

20). Where Hope Grows (RSA), 221 theaters (-55) / 3-day cume: $238K (-48%) /3-day per screen: $1,079 / 4-day cume: $343K / Total cume: $971K / Wk 2

Notables:

Chocolate City (FREE), 15 theaters / 3-day cume: $99K / 3-day per screen: $6,589 /4-day cume: $114K / Wk 1

When Marnie Was There (GKIDS), 2 theaters /3-day cume: $27K / 3-day per screen: $13,694/ 4-day cume: $37K / Wk 1

Sunshine Superman (MAG), 3 theaters /3-day cume: $9K/ 3-day per screen: $2,997/ 4-day cume: $11K / Wk 1

Love At First Flight (SR), 2 theaters /3-day cume: $3K / 3-day per screen: $1,594/ 4-day cume: $5K / Wk 1

Drunk Wedding (PAR INSUR), 16 theaters /3-day cume: $3K/ 3-day per screen: $206 / 4-day cume: $3K / Wk 1

Aloft (SPC), 2 theaters /3-day cume: $2K/ 3-day per screen: $1,058/ 4-day cume: $3K / Wk 1

5th UPDATE, Monday 8:15 AM after 4th UPDATE, Sunday: Story contains estimated B.O. as of Monday. Seriously people, it was an awful Memorial Day weekend. Rentrak is now reporting the FSS total ticket sales at $154M and FSSM at $192M. Though that’s the 12th highest Memorial day weekend in the books (on 3-day basis), it’s not that far from 2010. And that was an atrocious Memorial Day weekend: Warner Bros. stumbled out with Sex and the City 2 ($31M) and Disney had Jerry Bruckheimer’s pricey bomb Prince of Persia ($30.1M). Yes, this is a holiday weekend when there’s foot traffic, however, Hollywood knows better when it comes to rallying the Memorial Day frame: You launch your big guns, big pics — your mega franchise sequels — and nothing less. Don’t try establishing a new brand; it’s just too risky. The total FSS tickets sales this weekend are down 19% from last year’s $186.7M when 20th Century Fox’s X-Men: Days of Future Past generated $90.8M over FSS and $110.6M over FSSM.

tomorrowland 2
tomorrowland 2

Forget about the dead heat between Tomorrowland and Pitch Perfect 2. That’s Saturday’s news. Disney’s George Clooney theme park adaptation title is coming in at $32.97M as of Monday for the 3-day and $41.7M for the 4-day. While Tomorrowland saw an uptick from Friday ($9.7M) to Saturday ($11.8M) of +22%, it held well into Sunday at -3% ($11.4M), and looks to dip about 23% today ($8.76M).

Also disregard that Tomorrowland is coming in slightly higher than yesterday’s reported FSSM of $40.7M. Many insiders tell me that a $180M-$190M pic such as Tomorrowland should be in the $50M+ opening stratosphere. The Brad Bird-helmed pic had a similar CinemaScore to Prince of Persia — B. That film made 73% of its global B.O. abroad and that’s where the hope lies for Tomorrowland which drew $26.7M from 65 territories for a global first weekend of $58.859M. Compare Tomorrowland to the following despite the demo difference: Warner Bros. Mad Max: Fury Road, in 68 foreign territories, made $109.4M in its worldwide bow last weekend, repping 73% of its reported $150M production cost.

tomorrowland
tomorrowland

Disney is hoping that the film benefits from being the only PG title in the stateside market until its Inside Out arrives on June 19. In all fairness to Disney, they really gave their all to Tomorrowland. This was not a film that they just dumped in the market. They continue to bang the drum for it. Star George Clooney is set to make a pit stop in Shanghai for the China premiere. Disney began generating buzz for the film at their August 2013 D23 when Bird appeared on stage at the Anaheim Convention Center with co-scribe Damon Lindeloff and a dusty box of archival inspirations for the film. The studio dropped its word of mouth into fourth gear last fall at New York’s ComicCon with an appearance by Clooney and cast along with a teaser unveiling. There was a Super Bowl 30-second spot, a Google teaser experience, a TakeMeToTomorrowland.com launch featuring exclusive and explorable looks at the world of the film, seven-minute sneak peek on Imax showings of Avengers: Age of Ultron, a Disneyland world premiere and a globe-trotting filmmaker cast tour in San Francisco, London, Valencia Spain and Tokyo, Japan.

Why did Disney choose Memorial Day weekend to launch Tomorrowland? Again, it’s because they believed in it. They saw Tomorrowland as an event film, and Memorial Day weekend is where event films bow. However, Memorial Day crowds don’t want to try something new on the menu, they want juicy, red steak franchise sequels.

Part of the conundrum per distrib sources was the marketing materials for Tomorrowland: Is it for fanboys? Young kids? Pic’s audience was almost split between males and females, 51% to 49%. Families numbered 30% while teens repped 9%. 60% of the crowd was over 25 — meaning, it appears that the George Clooney fans came out, but not the prime demo. Under 18 demo gave the film an A-, so let’s hope they text their friends and tell them to go. Tomorrowland’s $30M-ish bow is right in the sweet spot of where Clooney’s Ocean’s Eleven movies opened. Rotten Tomatoes for Tomorrowland is at 50%.

It’s funny, Disney and Universal had a boxing match going between their respective titles Into the Woods and Unbroken during Christmas and New Years, and the demos for each film couldn’t have been different. It’s deja vu all over again regarding this weekend’s battle between Tomorrowland and Pitch Perfect 2.

pitch perfect 2
pitch perfect 2

Uni’s girl power Pitch Perfect 2 sang so high Sunday, it shattered the $100M window. 3-day is looking like $30.8M $30.3M , 4-day is currently at $38.5M $37.9M and the total running cume for the thrifty sequel is expected to land at $126M $125.4M — which is 94% ahead of the first installment’s final $65M domestic cume. All this syncs with the industry estimates heading into the weekend, and Uni accomplished this without any help from Imax or large format high priced tickets. Last weekend PP2 drew a femme crowd of 75%, 62% of ’em under 25. Go A- CinemaScore.

Monday’s updates show Mad Max: Fury Road lookin’ shinier than the B.O. Warner Bros. reported yesterday. The George Miller film held better in its second lap than what was originally anticipated at -45% (not -47%). It’s nice to have Memorial Day holiday gas in the tank, which prevents that -50% or greater drop. FSS is at $23.89M $24.8M with FSSM at $32.1M and an 11-day cume of $95.5M. Go Max.

poltergeist
poltergeist

20th Century Fox’s reboot of Poltergeist from Fox 2000/MGM grossed $22.6M (slightly lower than its Sunday-reported $23M) at 3,240, a figure that also totally jibes with pre-weekend estimates. FSSM is $26.5M $27.7M. 41% of the pic’s business came from 3D. As horror films often do, Poltergeist was front-loaded with a $9.35M Friday and a $7.4M Saturday, translating into a 21% slide. Sunday fell 20% for $5.9M and Monday look to be on track for $3.9M. How good is this opening? It’s a great start for a film that is reportedly budgeted at $35M. 55% of all females put their hands to the movie screen and screamed “We’re here!” while 59% of those shelling out for Poltergeist were under 25. The horror property was always one without bloody guts and knives; the original was rated PG and the 2015 version is PG-13. In the horror reboot era of the last 12 years, Poltergeist is at the lower end of bows, read 2009’s Friday the 13th ($40.57M), 2010’s A Nightmare on Elm Street ($32.9M), and 2003’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre ($28.1M), 2005’s The Amityville Horror ($23.5M) — but again, all these pics were rated R. What would be cool is if this one outlegs the original 1982 version’s $76.6M domestic B.O. CinemaScore is C+ which is the norm for horror pics. Horror films earning A CinemaScores are like 105 carat diamonds–they’re unheard of. If a slasher gets a B, it’s like, amazing.

Poltergeist played very well in the Midwest, south, southeast and northeast and was a little under norms in the western US and Canada. Top over-performing markets include Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Sacramento while most other top 20 markets were at norms. Fox’s marketing campaign for Poltergeist was quite creative. At its center was paranormal expert Christopher Chacon who did numerous interviews on behalf of the film in LA and Miami, and led a group of influencers and press through a local Los Angeles home with confirmed poltergeist activity. Newsweek took notice and ran a big piece on Chacon speaking about poltergeist activity being on the rise. Some of the highlights from the studio’s digital Poltergeist campaign included Chacon commenting on fans’ Instagram photos of ghosts and reposting them on the Poltergeist account. There was a Snapchat experience from a haunted house. The Twitter hashtag campaign #WhatAreYouAfraidOf resulted in 211 custom tweets, 300k+ impressions, 47k+ engagements and 28k+ video views. On Periscope, Fox hosted a live broadcast from the “other side” — the Poltergeist side — which yielded 13 total streams, 1.3K+ participants, 100% retention rate during broadcasts.

Disney Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron crossed $400M, with $21.69M in fifth for its 3-day, but its FSSM of $27.8 puts it ahead of Poltergeist on the 4-day chart. Total running stateside cume through today stands at $410.979 in weekend four.

The top 10 studio-reported weekend as Monday, ranked by 4-day cumes:

1). Tomorrowland (DIS), 3,970 theaters / $9.7M Fri. (includes $725K previews) / $11.8M Sat (+22%) / $11.4M Sun (-3%) /$8.76M (-23%)/ 3-day cume: $32.97M / 4-day cume: $41.7M / Wk 1

2). Pitch Perfect 2 (UNI), 3,560 theaters (+87) / $9.7M Fri. / $11M Sat (+14%) / $10M Sun (-9%) /$7.7M (-23%)/3-day cume: $30.8M (-55%) / 4-day cume: $38.5M / Total cume: $126M / Wk 2

3). Mad Max: Fury Road (WB), 3,722 theaters (+20) / $6.7M Fri. / $8.98M Sat (+34%) / $9.1M Sun (+1%) /$7.29M (-20%)/ 3-day cume: $24.8M (-45%)/ 4-day cume: $32.1M/ Total cume: $95.5M / Wk 2

4). Avengers: Age of Ultron (DIS), 3,727 theaters (-549) / $5.3M Fri. / $8.3M Sat (+36%) / $8M Sun (-4%) /$6.1M Mon (-24%)/ 3-day cume: $21.69M (-44%)/ 4-day cume: $27.8M / Total cume: $410.98M / Wk 4

5). Poltergeist (Fox/MGM), 3,240 theaters / $9.3M Fri. (includes $1.4M previews) /$7.3M Sat (-21%) / $5.87M Sun (-20%) /$3.9M Mon./ 3-day cume: $22.6M / 4-day cume: $26.5M / Wk 1

6). Hot Pursuit (WB/MGM/NL), 2,577 theaters (-460) / $960K Fri. / $1.35M Sat (+41%) / $1.3M Sun (-4%) /$975K Mon. (-25%)/3-day cume: $3.6M (-37%) / 4-day cume: $4.585M / Total cume: $30M / Wk 3

7). Far From The Madding Crowd (FSL), 865 theaters (+576) / $611K Fri. / $886K Sat (+45%) / $788K Sun (-11%) /$665K Mon. (-16%)/3-day cume: $2.285M (+83%) / 4-day cume: $2.95M / Total cume: $6.1M / Wk 4

8). Furious 7 (UNI), 1,653 theaters (-585) / $562K Fri. / $868K Sat (+54%) / $802K Sun (-8%) /$562K (-30%) 3-day cume: $2.232M (-39%)/ 4-day cume: $2.794M / Total cume: $347.7M/ Wk 8

9). Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 (SONY), 1,878 theaters (-754) / $425K Fri. / $700K Sat (+65%) / $630K Sun (-10%) /$775M (+23%) Mon/3-day cume: $1.76M (-50%)/ 4-day cume: $2.535M / Total cume: $66.4M / Wk 6

10). Home (FOX/DW), 1,444 theaters (-562) / $370K Fri. / $708K Sat (+91%) / $692K Sun (-2%) /$630K Mon./3-day cume: $1.77M (-31%) / 4-day cume: $2.4M / Total cume: $168.7M / Wk 9

 

And the top 10 studio reported weekend figures as collected by Deadline’s Amanda Nduka as of Sunday for comparison:

1). Tomorrowland (DIS), 3,970 theaters / $9.7M Fri. (includes $725K previews) / $11.8M Sat (+22%) / $10.5M Sun (-11%) / 3-day cume: $32.1M / 4-day cume: $40.7M / Wk 1

2). Pitch Perfect 2 (UNI), 3,560 theaters (+87) / $9.6M Fri. / $11M Sat (+14%) / $9.6M Sun (-13%) /3-day cume: $30.3M (-56%) / 4-day cume: $37.9M / Total cume: $125.4M / Wk 2

3). Mad Max: Fury Road (WB), 3,722 theaters (+20) / $6.7M Fri. / $9M Sat (+33%) / $8.1M Sun (-10%) / 3-day cume: $23.8M (-47)/ 4-day cume: $30M/ Total cume: $93.4M / Wk 2

4). Poltergeist (Fox/MGM), 3,240 theaters / $9.3M Fri. (includes $1.4M previews) /$7.3M Sat (-21%) / $6.2M Sun (-15%) / 3-day cume: $23M / 4-day cume: $27.7M / Wk 1

5). Avengers: Age of Ultron (DIS), 3,727 theaters (-549) / $5.3M Fri. / $8.3M Sat (+36%) / $7.2M Sun (-13%) / 3-day cume: $20.8M (-46%)/ 4-day cume: $26.7M / Total cume: $409.9M / Wk 4

6). Hot Pursuit (WB/MGM/NL), 2,577 theaters (-460) / $945K Fri. / $1.3M Sat (+41%) / $1.2M Sun (-10%) /3-day cume: $3.4M (-39%) / 4-day cume: $4.4M / Total cume: $29.8M / Wk 3

7). Far From The Madding Crowd (FSL), 865 theaters (+576) / $610K Fri. / $883K Sat (+45%) / $787K Sun (-11%) /3-day cume: $2.2M (+82%) / 4-day cume: $2.7M / Total cume: $5.9M / Wk 4

8). Furious 7 (UNI), 1,653 theaters (-585) / $554K Fri. / $835K Sat (+51%) / $735K Sun (-12%) / 3-day cume: $2.1M (-42%)/ 4-day cume: $2.6M / Total cume: $347.5M/ Wk 8

9). Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 (SONY), 1,878 theaters (-754) / $425K Fri. / $700K Sat (+65%) / $630K Sun (-10%) /3-day cume: $1.7M (-50%)/ 4-day cume: $2.2M / Total cume: $65.6M / Wk 6

10). Home (FOX/DW), 1,444 theaters (-562) / $365K Fri. / $700K Sat (+92%) / $615K Sun (-12%) /3-day cume: $1.6M (-34%) / 4-day cume: $2.2M / Total cume: $168.5M / Wk 9

Notables:

Tanu Weds Manu Retur (EROS), 136 theaters / $248K Fri. / $373K Sat (+50%) / $336K Sun (-10%) /3-day cume: $957K / 4-day cume: $1.2M / Wk 1

Chocolate City (FREE), 15 theaters / $43K Fri. / $34K Sat (-21%) / $29K Sun (-15%) /3-day cume: $106K/ 4-day cume: $126K / Wk 1

When Marnie Was There (GKIDS), 2 theaters / $8K Fri. / $9K Sat (+20%) / $8K Sun (-10%) /3-day cume: $25K / 4-day cume: $33K / Wk 1

Sunshine Superman (MAG), 3 theaters / $4K Fri. / $3K Sat (-28%) / $2K Sun (-15%) /3-day cume: $9K/ 4-day cume: $11K / Wk 1

Anthony D’Alessandro

3rd UPDATE, Saturday 11:00 PM: Tomorrowland grossed around $11.7M to $12M today compared to Pitch Perfect 2‘s estimated $10.7M to $11M to push the musical comedy away from the No. 1 position for both the 3-day and 4-day weekend. Sunday will be another strong moviegoing day because of the Memorial Day holiday. If the trajectory holds, odds are that Disney’s sci-fi extravaganza will gross anywhere between $32M and $33M for the 3-day compared to PP2‘s estimated $29M to $32M. However, in terms of return on investment, the prize still goes to Universal’s modestly budgeted PP2 which just pitch-slapped past the $100M.

We have two movies in the top three right now shouldering big budgets with smaller takes than anyone expected — Tomorrowland and Warner Bros.’ Mad Max: Fury Road, which is still holding strong in its second weekend for the No. 3 slot.

The other newbie, the Fox/MGM horror reboot, Poltergeist, scared in about $7.3M to $7.5M and looks right now to take the No. 4 spot for the 3-day weekend with around $22.4M to $23.2M but the 4-day may go to Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. More to come tomorrow.

2nd UPDATE, Saturday, 8:18 AM: This morning, it’s a dead heat. Disney’s George Clooney-starrer Tomorrowland and Universal’s female-powered musical Pitch Perfect 2 both made around $9.7M yesterday and are on a collision course for the 3-day weekend, with about $32.8M each. And the 4-day is too close to call as well. Tomorrowland may end up winning by a nose as most estimates put them slightly — but only very slightly — ahead. Still, Tomorrowland had the advantage of its $725K preview added into the Friday gross.

Today is family moviegoing day, so it will be interesting to see if the Disney film gets a small boost going into tomorrow. The big difference is that Tomorrowland has most all of the IMAX screens so PP2 is performing this well without the higher ticket prices albeit adding 87 screens. With only a 52% slide in its second weekend, PP2, as reported below, will also pass $100M this evening after only nine days in release (not including preview night Thursday). PP2 may also hold better tonight. Both movies appeal more heavily to the female demo so these two films are battling mightily for those wallets.

Mad Max Fury Road
Mad Max Fury Road

The next three titles — the male-driven Mad Max: Fury Road, the reboot of the old horror classic Poltergeist and the superhero cluster flick Avengers: Age of Ultron — are also only a small percentage apart. The other big news is that Warner Bros. is enjoying a wonderful hold this holiday weekend as Fury Road rides into its second weekend, with a drop of only 44% after adding just a handful (20) of theaters. At the end of the four-day weekend, they will be hovering slightly under $100M while Ultron will have climbed past $400M on Sunday for Disney and Marvel.

Poltergeist
Poltergeist

Finally, Poltergeist is actually expected to do decent business for a horror film. It should end up with about $24M for the 3-day and pull in right around $30M for the 4-day. Although it garnered a C+ CinemaScore, it is the first horror film to come around in four weeks for genre fans and that had to help. We’ll see if it holds as word-of-mouth might hurt it during this long weekend.

Amanda N’Duka contributed to this report.

1/2). Tomorrowland (DIS), 3,970 theaters / $9.7M Fri. (includes $725K previews) / 3-day cume: $32.8M / 4-day cume: $39.7M to $41.5M / Wk 1

Pitch Perfect 2 (UNI), 3,560 theaters (+87) / $9.7M Fri. / 3-day cume: $32.8M (-52%) / 4-day cume: $40.9M to $41.1M / Total cume: $128.5M / Wk 2

3). Mad Max: Fury Road (WB), 3,722 theaters (+20) / $6.7M Fri. / 3-day cume: $25M+ (-44%) / 4-day cume: $$30.9M to $32.4M / Total cume: $95M+ / Wk 2

4). Poltergeist (Fox/MGM), 3,240 theaters / $9.3M Fri. (includes $1.4M previews) / 3-day cume: $24M+ / 4-day cume: $29M to $3o.2M / Wk 1

5). Avengers: Age of Ultron (DIS), 3,727 theaters (-549) / $5.3M to $5.4M Fri. / 3-day cume: $22M+ / 4-day cume: $28M+ / Total cume: $411.5M to $412.1M / Wk 4

6). Hot Pursuit (WB/MGM/NL), 2,577 theaters (-460) / $938K Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.2M to $3.4M / 4-day cume: $3.8M to $4.2M / Total cume: $29.4M to $29.6M / Wk 3

7). Far From The Madding Crowd (FSL), 865 theaters (+576) / $607K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.3M to $2.5M / 4-day cume: $3.2M / Total cume: $6.2M to $6.4M / Wk 4

8). Furious 7 (UNI), 1,653 theaters (-585) / $545K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.1M to $2.2M / 4-day cume: $2.7M / Total cume: $347.6M/ Wk 8

9/10). Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 (SONY), 1,878 theaters (-754) / $413K Fri. / 3-day cume: $1.85M / 4-day cume: $2.5M / Total cume: $66.25M / Wk 6

Home (FOX/DW), 1,444 theaters (-562) / $370K Fri. / 3-day cume: $1.7M to $1.9M / 4-day cume: $2.45M to $2.6M / Total cume: $168M to $169M / Wk 9

1st UPDATE, Friday, 11:52 PM: This Memorial Day holiday weekend is turning out to be a two-tier box office with the Top Five and the Bottom Five separated by about $17M. Leading the Top half is Disney’s futuristic Tomorrowland and Universal’s Pitch Perfect 2, which are very close right now after a Friday battle to win holiday weekend. The estimated range on the 3-day gross for the Brad Bird-directed Tomorrowland is $33.7M to $35.1M after taking in around $10M to $10.4M Friday. The George Clooney starrer ended up with a B CinemaScore which traditionally averages a 2.9 multiple.

Pitch-Perfect-2-640x427
Pitch-Perfect-2-640x427

Not to be outdone, however, is PP2. The melody mash-up took in an estimated $9.7M to $10M+ today for an expected 3-day tally of $32.7M to $34M. The musical comedy will pass $100M tomorrow (meaning Saturday) and held very well with an estimated 49% drop after the studio added 87 theaters.

Speaking of small percentage drops, Warner Bros. had a solid second-weekend hold for its dystopian actioner Mad Max: Fury Road from director George Miller.

Mad Max Fury Road
Mad Max Fury Road

Even after garnering only a B+ CinemaScore last weekend, the Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron movie is expected to roll in with $26.2M to $28M for the 3-day which means a mere 39% drop (I can hear the studio’s distribution head Dan Fellman right now saying, ‘I told you so’ … hey, I admit I was wrong). It will end the 4-day close to $100M.

There’s another nice surprise, but first, the other newbie, Fox/MGM’s Poltergeist will end up in the No. 4 slot in its first weekend of release with roughly $23.9M to $26.6M for the 3-day (as predicted) and $29.1M to $32.3M for the 4-day. This reboot received a a very scary C+ CinemaScore. These kind of horror films usually fall off drastically in their second weekends.

Avengers Age of ultron 2
Avengers Age of ultron 2

Now for a bit of fun news: Disney/Marvey’s Avengers: Age of Ultron will sail past the $400M mark by Sunday in its fourth weekend of release to capture the No. 5 slot in the Top Ten with $20.5M to $21.9M 3-day weekend. The Joss Whedon-directed superhero cluster flick, unfortunately, had to give up its IMAX screens this weekend to Tomorrowland.

Both 3-day and 4-day totals are below for the Top Ten, with grosses and positions likely to be clearer in the morning:

Amanda N’Duka contributed to this report.

1/2). Tomorrowland (DIS), 3,970 theaters / $10M to $10.4M Fri. / 3-day cume: $33.7M to $35.1M / 4-day cume: $42.7M to $44.4M / Wk 1

Pitch Perfect 2 (UNI), 3,560 theaters (+87) / $9.7M to $10M+ / 3-day cume: $32.7M to $34M (-49%) / 4-day cume: $40.8M to $42.5M / Total cume: $130M to $133.6M / Wk 2

3). Mad Max: Fury Road (WB), 3,722 theaters (+20) / $7M to $7.5M Fri. / 3-day cume: $26.2M $28M (-39%) / 4-day cume: $33.5M to $35.9M / Total cume: $97.3M to $99.3M / Wk 2

4). Poltergeist (Fox/MGM), 3,240 theaters / $9.2M to $10M Fri. / 3-day cume: $23.9M to $26.6M / 4-day cume: $29.1M to $32.3M / Wk 1

5). Avengers: Age of Ultron (DIS), 3,727 theaters (-549) / $5.2M to $5.4M Fri. / 3-day cume: $20.5M to $21.9M / 4-day cume: $26.3M to $28M / Total cume: $409M to $411.4M / Wk 4

6). Hot Pursuit (WB/MGM/NL), 2,577 theaters (-460) / $900K Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.3M / 4-day cume: $3.9M to $4M+ / Total cume: $29M to $29.5M / Wk 3

7). Far From The Madding Crowd (FSL), 865 theaters (+576) / $600K to $620K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.3M to $2.5M / 4-day cume: $3M+ / Total cume: $6.2M to $6.4M / Wk 4

8/9/10). Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 (SONY), 1,878 theaters (-754) / $480K to $490K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.25M / 4-day cume: $3M / Total cume: $66.9M / Wk 6

Furious 7 (UNI), 1,653 theaters (-585) / $550K to $600K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2.2M to $2.4M / 4-day cume: $2.85M / Total cume: $347.8M/ Wk 8

Home (FOX/DW), 1,444 theaters (-562) / $410K to $450K Fri. / 3-day cume: $2M+ / 4-day cume: $2.8M to $2.9M / Total cume: $169M / Wk 9

PREVIOUSLY, Friday 2:40 PM: The four-day Memorial Day weekend is underway at the box office with Tomorrowland off to a good start in matinees for Disney, having bowed in 3,972 theaters today. Meanwhile, Poltergeist, even though it’s a PG-13 movie, will see most of its horror audience come out in force tonight, but pretty good (as Midwesterners say) so far. The film was co-financed by MGM and Fox 2000 and is being distributed by Fox. Will be interesting to see what kind of CinemaScore these films will get tonight as I figure Tomorrowland will do well and most horror films usually fall in the C+ range.

Right now, grosses are shaping up to be a $10M-$12.3M Friday for Tomorrowland (which would include that $725K from last night) on the way to a $38M-$40M+ three-day weekend (it’s so darn early that it’s hard to report with accuracy) and $45M-$50M for the four-day day. It currently accounts for almost 40% of Fandando’s weekend ticket sales.

Poltergeist, as I mentioned, will see its core audience come out tonight but had a heck of a $1.4M preview last night. Will bad word-of-mouth ruin it through the weekend? Remains to be seen, but it may gross around $23M-$25M for the three-day (as it stands now) with a $10M-$11.8M Friday (includes those strong previews) and $28M-$33M for the four-day.

pitch-perfect-2
pitch-perfect-2

Last weekend’s opener Pitch Perfect 2 is holding well so far for Universal, and we expect it in at No. 2 slot as of now. So maybe it will gross about $10M today for a three-day of anywhere between $31M-$33M and about $42M for the four-day. Midweek, PP2 and last weekend’s other opener, Warner Bros’ Mad Max: Fury Road, changed No. 1 positions, but it was PP2 that ended up coming out on top for the week.

Regardless, this is an unusual Memorial Day holiday with no big blockbuster openings. Last year saw X-Men: Days Of Future Past bowing with $90.8M and Godzilla (in its sophomore frame) grabbed $30.9M and Blended $14.2M. Sunday will be stronger than usual because of the Monday holiday. Traditionally, Memorial Day is down around 10% from Sunday numbers.

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