In a very lackluster weekend at the box office, comedy "Think Like a Man" ended up as the number one box office draw once again as all four new releases failed to get off the ground. "The Pirates! Band of Misfits," "The Five-Year Engagement," "The Raven" and "Safe" all earned less than $3,500 per venue, making it one of the worst weekends of the year for new releases. Meanwhile, "The Avengers" got off to a record-breaking international release, as the presumed blockbuster snagged $178 million in foreign revenue and seems to be in great shape heading into its domestic release this weekend.
But the past weekend was all about the new releases struggling to find their intended demographics. The most disappointing was "The Five-Year Engagement," an R-rated comedy in the same vein as last year's tremendously successful "Bridesmaids." Though "Bridesmaids" turned into one of the biggest hits of 2011, "The Five-Year Engagement" managed just $11.16 million in opening revenue, barely enough to land in the top five. Even without any direct genre competition this upcoming weekend, "The Five-Year Engagement" looks to be in very rough shape for the rest of its time in theaters, which probably won't be very long.
The same can definitely be said of "The Pirates! Band of Misfits," a PG animated action-comedy that proved a very tough sell to family audiences. Even without another major family film to draw audience members away, "The Pirates!" was only able to bring in just $3,395 per venue and $11.40 million overall, which are both very low numbers for a $55 million production getting a release of more than 3,000 total venues.
While "The Pirates!" struggled significantly, thrillers "Safe" and "The Raven" both landed outside of the top five with very disappointing opening totals. "Safe" performed the better of the two, but an opening weekend intake of just $7.72 million suggests that there isn't much of an audience willing to support Jason Statham's latest action-thriller. "The Raven" finished with a similar $7.25 million opening, and very poor critical marks will probably make it a very difficult sell to audiences as we move into the start of the summer blockbuster season.
A movie that has already made a big mark is "Think Like a Man," which has done so well it has become one of the biggest surprise hits of the year. After blowing by industry expectations a week ago, "Think Like a Man" dipped just 46.5% from its chart-topping opening and now has a very strong $60 million 10-day domestic total. With a production budget of just $12 million, "Think Like a Man" is already a huge hit for Sony/Screen Gems and it has an outside chance of hitting the $100 million domestic mark, an extreme rarity for a movie launched at only 2,015 theaters.
The weekend was also another strong one for "The Hunger Games," which continues to resonate with audiences despite being in its sixth weekend. "The Hunger Games" pushed its domestic total to a year-best $372 million and just eclipsed $600 million worldwide for distributor Lionsgate. Though "The Hunger Games" will now take a backseat to "The Avengers," it should still stick around the top ten for a few more weekends as it continues to charge toward $400 million in domestic revenue.
After a very weak set of new releases, theaters across the country will be packed next weekend as "The Avengers" hits theaters. "The Avengers" already comes with enormous expectations around the globe but it also has been receiving nothing short of rave reviews so far, a sign that it could string together more than just a huge opening weekend. With a lack of other options next weekend outside of "The Avengers," it looks like the opening weekend record of $169 million ("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2") is in serious jeopardy.
Early Studio Box Office Estimates for 4/27/12 - 4/29/12 (In Millions), [RTT Prediction]:
1. Think Like a Man (Sony/Screen Gems): $18 [$14]
2. The Pirates! Band of Misfits (Sony/Columbia): $11.40 [$16]
3. The Lucky One (Warner Brothers): $11.33 [$11.5]
4. The Hunger Games (Lionsgate): $11.25 [$8.5]
5. The Five-Year Engagement (Universal): $11.16 [$22]
6. Safe (Lionsgate): $7.72 [$9]
7. The Raven (Relativity): $7.25 [$11.8]
8. Chimpanzee (Buena Vista): $5.46 [$5.2]
9. The Three Stooges (Fox): $5.40 [$4.8]
10. The Cabin in the Woods (Lionsgate): $4.50 [$4]
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.