X-Men Origins: Wolverine is howling its way to the top of the box office with an opening day gross of $35 million. Bowing in 4,099 theaters, the film boasted a per-screen average of $8,539 on Friday. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner) also scored a healthy opening-day number, with $5.8 million in 3,175 theaters. Wolverine’s opening-day haul lags behind 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand’s single-day opening gross of $45 million, according to Hollywood.com’s box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. Whether the can make up the deficit in the next two days remains to be seen. If not, it’s highly unlikely the Hugh Jackman flick will manage to match Iron Man’s gross of $98.6 from this same weekend last year.
More Wolverine:
Wolverine: EW review
Wolverine: Summer’s First Hit?
22 Summer Movies for Your Inner Geek
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AWESOME movie! funny, too! A, easy
Hollywood needs to take into account this swine flu crap is making people stay home…and away from crowded places. So i think alot of summer blockbusters may see numbers a bit low.
Hopefully this shows that even with the stress of the economy and whatever known transient virus is out there to scare the general public, the 10 million dollar gap isnt being blamed on the fact that this movie was leaked, and that it shows that piracy has little to do with the new release of the film. i am happy for hugh and the rest of the cast for a successful film.
Not just the swine flu is scaring everyone, but also the economic crises is out there. I believe going to the theaters is not a priority for families. I watched and I loved it! I can’t wait for the next one!!!
C it!!!
Maybe we can kill the lie that piracy significantly hurts sales with this result. Wolverine was leaked and spread all over the internet, but I have to think $35 million for opening night of a movie that isn’t getting the greatest reviews from critics is pretty good. You can’t honestly say it would have done much better if it hadn’t been leaked.
Piracy is wrong, Ben. That’s why they call it piracy. It’s theft, pure and simple. If you ever have any of your personal intellectual property stolen and given to others without your consent, you’ll change your tune immediately.
I’ve seen it twice already- and planning to see it at least 3 more times. The pirated DVD is on sale (less than 1 buck!) everywhere but I’m not interested in watching it on a small screen. Nothing beats theater experience. Whatever the critics say, it is a great action move!
HRWTULSA….piracy is illegal but so is bait and switch and false advertising which FOX does on a regular basis with all their movies, but yet it’s the consumer who is the one persecuted…Theft can come in many different forms. THIS MOVIE SUCKED! Even after FOX and Hugh JACKMAN himself promised it would be stay true to the comic and the grit of wolverine, which it wasn’t not even by a LONGSHOT!
Who cares about what critics say? I mean, is there anyone who while was planning to go and see a movie that highly anticipated like Wolverine, eventually won’t go because critics said it’s not good?! You go and check for yourself! I don’t need Ebert to tell me which movie I’m going to see! Well, I saw Wolverine and it was GREAT FUN. Hugh Jackman ROCKS as Wolverine. I’m happy for the box-office performance of his new movie.
Didn’t Iron Man make 35 the first day too? Why is this being treated as a flop when its in the top 15 single day grosses ever?
it’s not just the critics who pan this movie. Wow I didn’t know fox hired so many plants for the EW talkback. Man you really have to be pretty dumb or have a pretty dull life if you find this movie entertaining…lol…stupid people are funny.
What a joke it was!
PATHETIC.
Piracy so bad….., then why isn’t everybody fined or in jail for stealing, borrowing, there friends books, or in old days recording songs off the radio, we been doing it for years all of us books, tapes, and vcr tapes. Come on.. You don’t think the best free advertisement is leaking a big movie on the net , unfinished and news people jumping all over it your crazy, alot big name musicians said they have leaked there own stuff at there. Besides Hollywood made the most money ever last year, fact.
$35 Mil…wow. Those pirated copies SURE affected those numbers!
http://tvdonewright.com/2009/05/02/nbc-locks-up-southland-for-next-season/
Well ironman was a better movie than Wolverine….
Well ironman was a better movie than Wolverine….
No matter how much sugar fanboys, plants, or any other fanatics puts out there, it can’t kill word of mouth from people as they exit the theater griping about how bad the movie is and telling their friends and neighbors to pass on this junk. And clearly a 10 million dollar drop from the opening of the last X-men movie is a total disaster in this economy when the movie business is thriving. Unfortunately too, this will be X-Men’s only chance at a big weekend with Star Trek pre-sales selling out timeslots for next weekend already. As well it’s a shame the early bootleg editions took a big bite out of X-Men sales.
ohhhh let’s not forget a workprint of Star Wars Episode 3 Revenge Of the Sith, also leaked on the web few days before release…Total Gross $848 million worldwide, was Lucas so upset then, or wanted too hit the 1 billion dollar mark, please, Let’s not forget that people are scared to go theaters because of the ’swine flu” either…
hot sexy photos of celebs…
http://watchcelebrity.com/
It’s kind of funny to me but the way I choose which movie is good or bad IS by the critics reviews. If they say it’s bad 99% of the time it’s great if they like it 100% of the time it’s not worth checking out the dvd from the library two year later. The critics wouldn’t know a good film if it bit them. Remember those who can do, those who can’t become critics.
I enjoyed wolverine & this weekend is fantastic & millions of people will go see it, no matter what!!! I saw it @ camera 12 in san jose, califantastico i love it!!!
jaime…Hollywood doesn’t need to worry. People will soon realize that swine flu is JUST THE FLU and it’s just being overblown by the media. People die from the flu too. This is nothing different.
Looks like Wolverwine is off to a great start.
Nicole, you could win TBOJ’s challenge to see which analyst is closest! http://theboxofficejunkie.com/2009/05/friday-estimates-wolverine-slices-its.html
I seriously do not believe there are idiots on this board defending piracy. You seriously need to get your head checked.
I think word-of-mouth will hurt it. It just wasn’t that great of a movie. Things happened int he movie that make you think they forgot it was a prequel to three other movies that you saw some of the same characters in.
I saw WOLVERINE opening day! May 1. I’m so glad I didn’t settle for watchin an unfinished product online. Several of my friends did and then did not want to pay to see it in the theater, which disappointed me. If you’re a true X-Men fan, give the movie a chance & go 2 the theater. Wolverine was gooD and I’m lookn forward to the origin story 4 Magneto!
rob tyson? you really think piracy is bad, you never read a book from a friend or borrowed a movie or even read a magazine at your doctor’s office , which isn’t yours or bought it, but still read it , did you pay to read that magazine…hmmm no, not everyone can afford take 4 kids and two adults too movies, that’s like $100, when your older and have kids you will understand, again, your probably young don’t remember everyone recording movies off tv’s or recording songs off the radio, that isn’t piracy?…give me some points why think I’m an idiot, why it’s soooo wrong. If one likes something they will buy it, if it’s trash they won’t….I think you can drive a car before you buy it? or did they pass a ban on that too!
you people suck way to ruin the board. losers!
Going for the movie today will see how it is. Will post my comments soon.
In the mean time folks can enjoy shopping @ http://www.deals2buy.com