'Pacific Rim 2' Tops Weekend as 'Black Panther' Becomes Fifth Largest Domestic Releas

It had to happen at some point and this was the weekend that saw Black Panther's streak as the #1 film at the weekend box office come to an end at the hands of Pacific Rim Uprising. That being said, it wasn't a down weekend for Black Panther at all as it became the highest grossing superhero film of all-time, topping The Avengers with a domestic cume that now totals $630.9 million, becoming one of the top five domestic releases of all-time.

This weekend also saw another stellar performance for Roadside and Lionsgate's I Can Only Imagine, which finished in third place, topping Paramount and MGM's Sherlock Gnomes, which struggled over the course of its opening weekend, falling short of pre-weekend expectations.

At the top, Universal and Legendary's Pacific Rim Uprising delivered an estimated $28 million three-day opening from 3,708 locations. While not a stellar opening for a film of this size, it is well above Mojo's forecast as well as above Universal's expectations heading into the weekend. The performance is almost spot on with Edge of Tomorrow, which was one of our pre-weekend comparisons and went on to gross just over $100 million domestically, a number the studio would likely be more than happy with as it would only be ~$2 million shy of the first film's domestic performance. However, in all likelihood, it will fall short of the century mark domestically, though given this film was always more of a global play, that's unlikely to be much of an issue.

Speaking of which, Uprising brought in an estimated $122.5 million internationally this weekend, including a $65 million debut in China, ~$20 million more than the first film's opening weekend in the market before it went on to gross over $111 million. All told, the film's $150.5 million worldwide start also included #1 openings in Korea ($6.9 million); Russia ($6.8 million); Mexico ($4.9 million); Indonesia ($3.7 million); Taiwan ($3.4 million); and Brazil ($1.6 million).

In terms of demographics, Pacific Rim Uprising received a "B" CinemaScore from opening day audiences which broke down as 62% male vs. 38% female, of which 53% of the overall audience was 25 years or older.

This leaves Disney and Marvel's Black Panther in second place after five weeks atop the weekend box office. This weekend the film pulled in an estimated $16.65 million, pushing the film's domestic cume over $630 million, making it the highest grossing comic book adaptation of all-time, surpassing The Avengers ($623.3m). Panther is also now the fifth largest overall domestic release of all-time, just $21.3 million behind Jurassic World with a shot at also topping Titanic to become the third largest all-time by the end of its domestic run.

Internationally, Black Panther grossed an estimated $12.9 million, pushing its international cume to $606.4 million for a global tally topping $1.237 billion. The film now ranks as the twelfth largest worldwide release of all-time, passing The Fate of the Furious ($1.236b) and is just behind Beauty and the Beast ($1.263b). Panther currently stands as the third largest worldwide release among films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ranking behind the two Avengers films.

Finishing in third for the second straight weekend is Roadside and Lionsgate's I Can Only Imagine. The film expanded into 2,253 locations (+624) following its stellar debut and delivered an impressive $13.8 million sophomore frame, dropping just 19%, and pushing the film's domestic cume over $38 million after just ten days in release.

Paramount and MGM's release of Sherlock Gnomes landed in fourth with a disappointing $10.6 million opening from 3,662 theaters, down nearly $15 million when compared to the $25.3 million debut for Gnomeo and Juliet in 2011. The film received a "B+" CinemaScore from opening day audiences and despite the lackluster performance, the studio is hoping that with Spring Break beginning next week it will help prop up weekday grosses going forward.

Sherlock Gnomes also added another $2.1 million from 19 international markets this weekend after debuting in five markets last weekend, pushing the international cume to $4.6 million.

Rounding out the top five is Warner Bros. and MGM's Tomb Raider with an estimated $10.4 million, dropping 56% in its second weekend, pushing the film's domestic cume over $41 million after ten days in release. Internationally, the film brought in an additional $34.1 million this weekend from 66 markets, for an international running cume of $170 million and a worldwide tally totaling $211.7 million.

Elsewhere in the top ten, Sony and Affirm Films' Paul, Apostle of Christ took in an estimated $5 million this weekend from 1,473 theaters. The faith-based film will join I Can Only Imagine and next weekend's release of God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness in looking for a strong play over the Easter holiday. Paul received an "A-" CinemaScore from opening day audiences.

Rounding out the top ten is Global Road's Midnight Sun with an estimated $4.1 million from 2,178 locations. The film received an "A-" CinemaScore from opening day audiences. Overall, the audience was 80% female with 66% of the audience coming in under the age of 25.

And just outside the top ten is Bleecker Street's release of Steven Soderbergh's Unsane with an estimated $3.8 million debut from 2,023 theaters. The film received an "B-" CinemaScore from opening day audiences. Internationally the film opened in five markets with an estimated $805,086 led by $675k in the UK.

This weekend also saw the first stage in Fox Searchlight's platform release of Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs. The film debuted in 27 theaters this weekend and brought in an estimated $1.57 million for a strong $58,148 per theater average. The film received an "A" CinemaScore from opening day audiences and slightly over 60% of the audience was under 30 years of age. Looking ahead, Searchlight will add 22 new markets next weekend while expanding in already opened cities pushing the film's theater count to 150-175 locations for the Easter weekend. Isle of Dogs will release nationwide in mid-April.

In limited release, Hannover's Getting Grace brought in an estimated $107,676 from 60 locations ($1,795 PTA); Sony Classics's Final Portrait opened in three theaters with $28,214 ($9,405 PTA); Magnolia's Ismael's Ghosts brought in $19,000 from two theaters; Music Box opened Back to Burgundy in four theaters with an estimated $12,060 ($3,015 PTA); and Abramorama's Summer in the Forest opened in one theater with an estimated $8,660.

Next weekend sees the release of PureFlix's God's Not Dead: A Light in Darkness in ~1,500 locations and Lionsgate will release Tyler Perry's Acrimony into ~2,000 theaters. Additionally, Fox International will open Baaghi 2 into ~125 theaters and Roadside will open Finding Your Feet.