Captain America' Soldiers on With Another Box Office Win

By Erich Schwartzel 

Captain America was again embraced by his countrymen at the box office this weekend, retaining the top spot despite fresh competition from a popular animated sequel and the latest microbudget horror film.

"Captain America: The Winter Soldier," the latest offering from Walt Disney Co.'s Marvel Studios, collected an estimated $41.4 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic gross to $159 million. The superhero movie, starring Chris Evans, has taken in an additional $317.7 million overseas. The sequel has already surpassed the global box-office haul of the original released in 2011.

Heading into the weekend, many analysts thought "Rio 2," from Blue Sky Studios and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox, had the best chance of knocking "Captain America" off its perch. But the animated sequel about a family of wild birds in Brazil premiered in second place with a solid $39 million. (Fox is owned by 21st Century Fox Inc., which until recently was part of the same company as The Wall Street Journal.)

Fox faced tough competition from Mother Nature, as many cities registered double-digit temperature increases on Saturday.

"When you have a day like [Saturday], you grab the kids and go outside," said Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution at Fox. As a result, the studio saw its Saturday returns increase 28% over Friday--far below the 69% boost that the original "Rio" registered.

Still, the overall opening weekend performance of "Rio 2" is on par with the original "Rio" opening of $39.2 million in 2011. Blue Sky's films, which also include the "Ice Age" franchise, typically perform better in international markets. The original "Rio" grossed $143.6 million domestically, but collected $341 million overseas. "Rio 2" looked poised to repeat that proportion, so far collecting more than $125 million over several weeks in international markets. The movie features the voices of Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway.

"Oculus," about a family grappling with a haunted mirror, debuted in third place with $12 million. The latest microbudget horror offering was picked up for domestic distribution at the Toronto International Film Festival last September for $2.5 million by Relativity Media LLC and Blumhouse Productions. It had a budget of under $5 million.

The "Captain America" sequel most likely tore away some of the young-male audience for "Oculus" and the weekend's other new release, "Draft Day," the Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. movie starring Kevin Costner as an NFL general manager. "Draft Day" premiered in fourth place with a weak $9.8 million.

Write to Erich Schwartzel at [e-mail]

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