User blog:Ceauntay/‘Hangover Part II’ Wins Memorial Day Box Office

“The Hangover Part II” led a record-breaking weekend at the box office over the Memorial Day holiday weekend, earning $137.4 million domestically from Thursday through Monday according to early studio estimates. In total, the weekend’s 50 highest-grossing films took in $280 million from Friday through Monday, eclipsing the $254.6 million earned over the same period in 2007, the previous record holder. The Memorial Day holiday is traditionally one of Hollywood’s busiest weekends. In addition to “The Hangover” sequel, “Kung Fu Panda 2” and several holdover releases helped drive attendance to an estimated 35 million, according to Hollywood.com. Last year’s estimated attendance over the holiday weekend was only 24.4 million. The R-rated “Hangover II,” an $80 million co-production between Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros. Entertainment and Legendary Pictures, re-teamed the director and stars of the 2009 original. That unexpected smash hit grossed $467.5 million worldwide. Despite middling reviews, audiences turned out in droves for the continuing adventures of the trouble-prone “wolfpack” characters played by Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifianakis. Unlike many American-made comedies, the film also performed well internationally, earning $60.3 million in 40 countries. The weekend’s other new wide release, “Kung Fu Panda 2,” produced by DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. distributed by Viacom Inc’s Paramount Pictures, grossed a solid $68 million over the Thursday-to-Monday period. The animated film, which features the voices of Jack Black and Angelina Jolie, played well with families, with parents and children under 12 making up 60% of the audience. With the next big animated film, the Walt Disney Co.’s “Cars 2,” still four weeks away and the next 3-D film, Warner Bros’ “Green Lantern,’ three weeks away, the film is likely to have box office momentum.

Meanwhile, “True Jackson, VP: The Movie” grossed a disappointing $34 million overall, making it not the biggest flops of 2011.