Avengers Endgame Box Office: A Strong Opening From Detective Pikachu Isn't Enough

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Avengers Endgame Box Office: A Strong Opening From Detective Pikachu Isn't Enough

For the first time since it began its run a few weeks ago, Avengers: Endgame was actually tested at the weekend box office. The latest from the Marvel Cinematic Universe got all it could handle thanks to a strong opening weekend from Detective Pikachu, but in the end, Cap and company are still hanging out on top. They did just enough to keep the first place position though it's hard to imagine anyone involved with the Pokemon Company is too upset about an opening over $50M.

You can check out the full results from this weekend's box office, including those from newcomers Detective Pikachu, The Hustle, Poms and Tolkien below...

This third weekend for Avengers: Endgame is probably a combination of word of mouth and repeat business. Most people who desperately want to see a movie that's heavy on spoilers will find a way to get there the first two weekends. So, the people left can probably be divided into two groups: those who were on the fence about seeing it and got talked into it by the overwhelming positivity and those who enjoyed it so much they felt the need to go back. Anecdotally, we've heard that a lot in our comment section here at CinemaBlend. People keep making comments like, "I noticed X on my second time through" or "I can't wait to see whether my viewpoint on X changes when I see it a second/ third time." So, you can deliver all of that credit to the people involved with the production itself. Disney might have an incredible hype machine to deliver on opening weekend, but that machine isn't delivering these results on the third weekend.

As for Detective Pikachu, $58M is a really solid opening weekend for a movie with an estimated $150M budget. There have been high high hopes for awhile from both the studio and from fans that the film would produce enough of a result to a launch a larger Pokemon-themed cinematic universe. I wouldn't say it's done enough yet, but that possibility is very much in play right now. As such, fans should keep their fingers crossed for a solid second weekend, some strong social media buzz and engagement and eventually good home entertainment sales.

Outside of Detective Pikachu, it's hard to be excited about any of the openings for new films this weekend. The Hustle at least broke eight figures in domestic grosses, but the reviews on it have not been good and it's hard to imagine a scenario in which it put up a good performance next weekend. The same could be said for Poms, though it's 29% score on Rotten Tomatoes makes it look like Toy Story 3 compared to The Hustle which was hammered (including by us) with a miserable 16%.

Things should get very interesting next weekend when John Wick 3 is added to the release schedule. I'd expect a first place finish for the assassin, but as we saw this week, Avengers: Endgame certainly isn't going down without a fight.