“X-Men: First Class” Leads Box Office, “Hangover Part II” Falls Big, “Bridesmaids” Hits Milestone

Though its total will be considerably below that of the previous “X-Men” film, the well-reviewed, rebooted/pseudo-prequel “X-Men: First Class” will have no trouble claiming the weekend box office.

The critical standout earned $21 million Friday, which puts it on pace for an opening weekend in the $52-$57 million range. According to THR, the studio had been floating a $54 million figure around, so it will not disappoint against that expectation, although some in the industry were eyeing $60 million or more. And, given the fact that “X-Men: The Last Stand” was able to earn over $100 million in its first weekend while the “Wolverine” spin-off managed $85 million, it does indeed represent the cooling of “X-Men” as a cinema brand name.

As expected, “The Hangover Part II,” set to be the number two grosser this weekend, fell sharply to $10.5 million, but no one at Warner Bros. is disappointed. Given how inevitably front-loaded the film was going to be, especially after releasing the Thursday of Memorial Day weekend, there was actually some worry the drop would be even steeper than the 60% forecast for the balance of the weekend. A gross in the $33-35 million range would bring the domestic total in the $185-190 million ballpark.

“Kung Fu Panda” followed in third with $6.3 million, beating “On Stranger Tides” ($5.1 million) and “Bridesmaids” ($3.6 million). Based on that total, “Bridesmaids” will cross the $100 million mark sometime Saturday.