Industry forecasts of a $20 million opening Friday and $50 million opening weekend seemed oddly low for “Pitch Perfect 2.”
The film’s actual Friday performance confirms that they were off base.
The heavily hyped sequel to 2012’s “Pitch Perfect” earned a box office-leading $27.8 million Friday. Substantially better than what was projected for Friday, the tally positions “Pitch Perfect 2” to cross the $60 million mark for the entire weekend.
That total will substantially best the $50 million that industry insiders originally expected.
It will also effectively match the $65.0 million cumulative for “Pitch Perfect.”
— While “Pitch Perfect 2” was expected to best “Mad Max: Fury Road” at the box office this weekend, its margin of victory will be greater than first assumed. Thanks to its $16.8 million Friday, “Mad Max” is on track for a weekend tally in the low $40 millions.
“Avengers: Age of Ultron” ($10.1 million, #3), “Hot Pursuit” ($1.8 million, #4) and “The Age of Adaline” ($1.0 million, #5) completed Friday’s top five.