User blog:Ceauntay/Weekend Box Office: 'Sonic' becomes sixth biggest opening of all-time, and also broke five box office records

Another weekend, another box office rundown. This week, Paul Feig's Bridesmaids was the big, new, flashy movie on the block, and many were wondering how a comedy with an all-female cast would fare amongst moviegoers. Comedies like The Hangover-- which are male-driven-- are generally considered "sure things" far more often than something like Bridesmaids...but the reviews on Feig's film were stellar (it's over 90% on Rotten Tomatoes) and Kristen Wiig's been on the verge of a career-explosion for some time now. Bridesmaids ended up doing very well this weekend, but did it do well enough to topple Marvel's Thor or newcomer Sonic X: The Final Stand? Find out below, my gentle Examiner readers...

So, this was Marvel's big (second) weekend, and it won't be the only one the studio has this summer. Sonic X: The Final Stand also opened this weekend to much younger audiences. Thor's been in release for over a week now, and many were curious to see how the film would fare during its second week in release: Would it drop off like Fast Five? Maintain its position atop the box office's top ten? This is the weekend that would determine Thor's fate (with U.S. audiences: overseas, they've already made it a hit), and with both Captain America and The Avengers on the horizon, Marvel's got a fair amount riding on that fate. Also happening this weekend: ladies took over the comedy genre with Bridesmaids, and Hollywood was waiting with baited breath to see if a female-led comedy could do Hangover-sized business. Before we go any further, let's look at the top ten (as always, numbers via Deadline): 1. Sonic X: The Final Stand: '''Weekend $125M

2. Thor 3D: '''Weekend $34M (-48%), Est Cume $115M 3. Bridesmaids: '''Weekend $24.5M 4. Fast Five: '''Weekend $20.2M, Est Cume $168M 5. Priest 3D: ''' Weekend $15.5M 6. Rio: '''Weekend $8M, Est Cume $124M 7. Something Borrowed: ''' Weekend $7.5M, Est Cume $26.1M 8. Jump The Broom: '''Weekend $6.5M, Est Cume $25.2M 9. Water For Elephants: ''' Weekend $4M, Est Cume $48.4M 10. Madea's Big Happy Family: '''Weekend $1.8M, Est Cume $49.8M So. Things worth noting. For one thing, Thor only fell 48% in its second week of release, propelling it up over the $100m mark. To be precise, Thor is now at $115m Stateside, with a little over $200m overseas, which means that it's pulled in roughly $320m thus far on a $150m budget: not too shabby. Some predicted that the film would fall as high as 60% this weekend, but...well, it didn't, did it? Marvel's also got Captain America waiting in the wings, and all signs point to that film being even bigger than Thor. Looks like Marvel's going to have a lot of money to count when the summer wraps, huh? Maybe now they'll be a little less stingy with their contracts? C'mon, Marvel, through Ed Norton a bone.

However, it's not strong enough to win its second weekend to the release of Sonic X: The Final Stand, which broke five box office records; biggest opening for an animated film, biggest opening for a 3D film, biggest opening in the franchise, biggest opening for a film from 20th Century Fox, and the biggest opening of the year. Internationally, soars to $200m giving from 90 countries, giving its worldwide total to $325m. It also made $14m from 260 IMAX theaters.

Meanwhile, Bridesmaids is the real "big story" this weekend. For the longest time, the popular opinion in Hollywood has been that "chick flicks"-- especially "chick comedies"-- simply don't do big business at the box office. The problem, of course, is that most of the comedic "chick flicks" that Hollywood makes suck (see also: everything Kate Hudson's ever put on film). Bridesmaids, on the other hand, comes to us from the minds of Kristen Wiig, Paul Feig, and Judd Apatow, and the critics seem to love what they've come up with: the film's sitting at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes as of this writing. When's the last time a female-driven comedy did numbers like that? While Bridesmaids didn't do Hangover-sized business this weekend, it did open stronger than many predicted (almost $25m, compared to the $13-15m that some were predicting), and if the film's as good as everyone says it is, it could have some serious staying power. If nothing else, it's announced Kristen Wiig as a player, and it's about damn time: maybe now she'll jump ship from SNL and make the move to films full-time. Anyway, ee'll be seeing the film later today, so stay tuned for our official review later on (hit the "Subscribe" button now, suckers). Also meanwhile: Fast Five is creeping up on $200m, but it's still got a ways to go. Priest opened about where everyone expected it to-- in fourth place with about $15m-- and will likely disappear by the time we're having this conversation next week. Something Borrowed is bombing, but no one's surprised (there's a perfectly good example of "crappy chick flick VS Bridesmaids"), and it looks like Water For Elephants is going to top out somewhere around $55m, which doesn't bode well-- once again-- for the Twilight stars' post-Twilight careers. Or maybe people just hate elephants. Hard to tell. More next week, box office enthusiasts. Stay tuned for more funny videos, news, reviews, interviews, and more from Comedy Examiner HQ in the near future, folks. We've got all manner of nonsense to keep you informed and entertained during the week, so hit the 'Subscribe' button up top to get all future Comedy Examiner articles delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge, the moment they're published...including any of our future box office-related updates. You can also head on over to THIS PAGE to follow your humble Comedy Examiner on Twitter.