LOS ANGELES — "Avengers: Infinity War" still ruled the box office in its third weekend in theaters, easily beating out the mom-themed fare.
Walt Disney Studios estimated Sunday that "Infinity War" added $61.8 million from North American theaters, bringing its total domestic earnings to $547.8 million. Worldwide, the film has grossed more than $1.6 billion — $200 million of it from its massive opening in China over the weekend. It's now the fifth-highest-grossing film of all time worldwide.
The superhero blockbuster overpowered newcomers like the Melissa McCarthy comedy "Life of the Party" and the Gabrielle Union thriller "Breaking In," both of which were strategically timed to debut on Mother's Day weekend. Both films drew overwhelmingly female audiences, too.
In a distant second, "Life of the Party" earned an estimated $18.5 million, a few million short of some of McCarthy's other comedy collaborations with her husband, Ben Falcone, like "Tammy" and "The Boss." It also got similarly mixed reviews from critics. The Warner Bros. release stars McCarthy as a woman who decides to go back to college with her daughter.
The studio said it was "thrilled."
"It's escapist movie palace fare," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' president of domestic distribution.
The modestly budgeted "Breaking In" took third place, with $16.5 million, over-performing most industry expectations despite lackluster reviews. The film stars Union as a mom who has to fight to save her kids from a group of home invaders.
"It's an edge-of-the-seat thriller that you may not always associate with Mother's Day, but it worked extraordinarily well," said Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic theatrical distribution.
The Universal Pictures release is just the latest in a long string of successful collaborations with producer Will Packer, who also produced "Girls Trip" and the "Ride Along" films.
"We have a great partner in Will Packer, and 'Breaking In' is another example of his very talented approach and our mutual success," Orr said.
(Universal Pictures is a division of NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.)
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Also benefiting from the Mother's Day timing was "Overboard," which earned $10.1 million to take fourth place, down by only 31 percent from its debut last weekend. And rounding out the top five was "A Quiet Place," with $6.4 million. The John Krasinski-directed thriller has earned $169.6 million domestically.
"This is a typical Mother's Day weekend with a big blockbuster in the mix and some counter-programming thrown in for good measure as we await the arrival of 'Deadpool 2' next week," said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst for comScore.
Because of the massive success of "Infinity War," the box office is up by 4.9 percent for the year, and a slew of blockbusters coming up are hoping to continue the success, including "Deadpool 2" and "Solo: A Star Wars Story" just a week later.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
- "Avengers: Infinity War," $61.8 million ($281.3 million international)
- "Life of the Party," $18.5 million ($2.9 million international)
- "Breaking In," $16.5 million ($1 million international)
- "Overboard," $10.1 million ($8.2 million international)
- "A Quiet Place," $6.4 million ($2.8 million international)
- "I Feel Pretty," $3.7 million ($3.5 million international)
- "Rampage," $3.4 million ($6.4 million international)
- "Tully," $2.2 million
- "Black Panther," $1.9 million
- "Blockers," $1.1 million ($1.2 million international)