“PITCH PERFECT 2” LEAVES “MAD MAX” IN THE DUST

Breathing new life into the musical-comedy genre — and confounding box-office pundits — Pitch Perfect 2 flew past Mad Max: Fury Road to win the weekend box office with an estimated $70.3 million. That was $5 million more than the original film, which opened with $14.8 million, made during its entire domestic run in 2012. The new film reportedly cost around $24 million to produce. By contrast the latest Mad Max film, which opened the Cannes Film Festival this week to outstanding reviews, cost $150 million to produce. Its $44-million debut was at the low end of expectations. (A few critics had predicted it could become the box-office champion of the season.)

The top ten films at the box office over the weekend according to estimates compiled by Rentrak:
1. Pitch Perfect 2, $70.3 million; 2. Mad Max: Fury Road, $44.4 million; 3. Avengers: Age of Ultron, $38.8 million; 4. Hot Pursuit, $5.8 million; 5. Furious 7, $3.6 million; 6. Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, $3.6 million; 7. The Age of Adaline, $3.2 million; 8. Home, $2.7 million; 9. Ex Machina, $2.1 million; 10. Far from the Madding Crowd, $1.3 million.