'Pitch Perfect 2,' 'Mad Max' Matinees Strong After Late Nights � Box Office Friday

UPDATED, 4:53 PM: Its still early, but it looks as though Pitch Perfect 2 is headed over $50M as matinees are very strong today; that would be right in line with Deadlines estimates from earlier in the week. As it stands now, it looks like Universal could end up with the top opener of all time for a musical as it might end up with a low $20M Friday. Mad Max: Fury Road is still moving along at the same pace we expected for a possible mid $40M 3-day take. Avengers: Age of Ultron is still performing strong in its third week and might surprise with $40M+. Stay tuned.

UPDATED, 1:06 PM: Matinee estimates from both Mad Max: Fury Road and Universals Pitch Perfect 2 are right in line with what we have below, at the moment, with the female-driven PP2 holding Mad Max away from the No. 1 spot. It is extremely early right now but PP2 could take in around $20M today with Mad Max behind it, grossing in the mid-to-high teens.

UPDATE: 7:25 AM: Warner Bros. just weighed in on late nights for Mad Max: Fury Road (see below) and, as expected its three-day gross will be a step behind its female-driven competitor Pitch Perfect 2. Shouldering a $200M+ budget, this testosterone-packed actioner is on track right now for a mid-$40M haul and the studio is hoping that positive reviews and good word-of-mouth will give this violent film longer play. Its international rollout also began last night (see my colleague Nancy Tartagliones box office report here).

PREVIOUS, 7:12 AM: Universal Pictures Pitch Perfect 2 and Warner Bros. Mad Max: The Fury both debuted last night in previews starting at 7 PM in a weekend that pits a female-directed musical comedy against an male-helmed violent, dystopian actioner. In more than3,000 theaters, Mad Max (3D) took in $3.7M last night while Pitch Perfect 2 belted out $4.6M in 2,652 theaters. The PG-13 PP2 heads into 3,472 theaters tonight. The R-rated Mad Max will be at 3,702 theaters, on only seven Imax theaters and 360 of the large-format screens.

Everyone is a bit stumped for a decent comp for the PG-13 Pitch Perfect 2, but with its highly charged female demo, some point to Foxs The Fault In Our Stars which hauled in $8.2M on its Thursday preview beginning at 9 PM and ended up with a three-day weekend gross of $48M. The Great Gatsby grossed $3.25M in May 2013 in Thursday previews, starting at 10 PM and delivered $50M for its opening weekend. Divergent grabbed $4.9M in late-night Thursday screenings that began at 8 PM for a $54.6M three-day.

PP2 is expected to make around $50M (more or less) this weekend as anticipation is high and the strength of the female demo is off the charts. Its doing better in early shows so far than FaultIn Our Stars, but Fox had those $25 tickets for late nights (if you all remember) which helped its late night take a bit.

As for comps for Mad Max, Lucy grossed $2.746M in 2,386 locales when it previewed in the heart of the summer in July 2014 and packed a three-day of $43.8M. Warner Bros. is looking at comps anywhere from Pacific Rim ($3.6M and $37.2M three-day), Prometheus ($3.6M and $51M) and World War Z ($3.6M and $66.4M) to 300: Rise Of An Empire ($3.3M and $45M).

The fact of the matter is that its doing better than Lucy and not as good as Prometheus early, early this AM so there you have it. For now. Waaay early.

In the meantime, the George Miller-directed Mad Max releases day-and-date internationally and last night got a nice marketing push with a red carpet premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, complete with starsTom Hardy and Charlize Theron. The film got a fantastic start, boasting 2015s best opening day for the greater Paris area and opening easily to No. 1 in New Zealand and Australia, the home of Miller and producer Village Roadshow. Of course, Miller is the director of the original Mad Max feature series that launched Mel Gibsons career in the late 1970s and early 80s.

The international estimate is anywhere between $70M and $85M for the weekend as it hits 68 markets and 16,000 screens.

In terms of social media, MadMax hashtags have consistently built up over the last three weeks (thank you Ultron), according to RelishMix. In the meantime, the social media choir is singing strong and sure for PP2. The films cross-promo tie-in with Cover Girl has gotten 9.3M views.

The total Facebook reach with the official pages is 13.6M and Twitter total reach at 10.9M. Anna Kendrick has 4M Twitter followers and 2.8M on Instagram. Rebel Wilson, who is full game on, is pushing promoting the film with 2M Twitter followers as is first-time feature director Elizabeth Banks with her 1.7M Twitter fan base.

Pitch Perfect (the original) opened in limited release before going wide in the fall of 2012. The total domestic gross was $65M. Worldwide, it ended up $115M.

Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&ct2=us&usg=AFQjCNHlnDw5KuKYeoBjcYYQ0MY2ZOfCAg&clid=c3a7d30bb8a4878e06b80cf16b898331&cid=52778841566865&ei=aPZWVZjTNcPC8gGS-oDoCQ&url=https://deadline.com/2015/05/pitch-perfect-2-mad-max-the-fury-box-office-thursday-1201427235/

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Pitch Perfect 2 Release Date, Updates, Reviews: Have You Seen The Pitch ...

That's right, Rebel Wilson and Anna Kendrick are back with the rest of the Bellas to bring fans along on a whole new journey for the second installment of hit musical Pitch Perfect. The plot, which revolves around the quirks and struggles involving a group of girls engaged in a collegiate a cappella, thickens as the girls step up their game and try for a big challenge.

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Pitch Perfect 2 trailer

As fans already know, the previous movie was concluded with a highly satisfying victory with the Barden Bellas winning the nationals. Naturally, the trailer for the second movie teases the audience with the myriad of possibilities that could possibly happen after the girls have triumphed over their initial feat. A lot of things could happen but as the Pitch Perfect 2 trailer shows, the Barden Bellas have decided to take it global.

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Apart from the girls, the sequel will also feature a handful of the boys from the earlier set. The cast will include the cuddly Jesse who serves as Skylar Astin;s leading man, Ben Platt's Benji, Adam DeVine's bumper as well as a pair of a cappella officials played by none other than Elizabeth Banks and John Michael Higgins. However, this time, Elizabeth Banks will be pulling in thrice the effort. Apart from merely producing and acting, Banks will also make her directorial debut.

As what the events shown in the Pitch Perfect 2 trailer suggest, the plot seems to be taking on a familiar route. The girls will be in it once again as they are thrust into a bigger a cappella competition which borders on a global scale. And much like in the first movie, they enter the battlefield on board an underdog position.

The Pitch Perfect 2 trailer has been tailored to excite fans as it featured "Cups," which became one of Anna Kendrick's***t song right after the movie was released. On top of all the familiar brand of musical numbers, salty humor, and female bonding, the trailer has also shown Rebel Wilson's snappy remarks and pratfalls. After all, what Pitch Perfect movie would be complete without all these?

Check out the trailer here: (Courtesy of YouTube)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBwOYQd21TY

Source: http://www.crossmap.com/news/pitch-perfect-2-release-date-updates-reviews-have-you-seen-the-pitch-perfect-2-trailer-check-out-13983

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Sneak peek: Packers add muscle to 'Pitch Perfect 2'

Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Brittany Snow star in "Pitch Perfect 2," directed by Elizabeth Banks. Universal Studios

Jordan Rodgers as well as Green Bay Packers players T.J. Lang, Clay Matthews, Don Barclay, David Bakhtiari and Josh Sitton appear in "Pitch Perfect 2."(Photo: Richard Cartwright, Universal Pictures)

Three decades ago the NFL's Chicago Bears sang and boogied their way into America's hearts with The Super Bowl Shuffle rap video. Next year, some Green Bay Packers will up the pop-culture game by muscling onto the big screen.

Offensive linemen David Bakhtiari, Don Barclay, T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton, linebacker Clay Matthews and quarterback Aaron Rodgers' brother Jordan make a cameo appearance alongside assorted actors and a cappella singers in the sequel Pitch Perfect 2 (due out May 15).

Bakhtiari, a Pitch Perfect super-fan and the ringleader for this group of aca- all-pros, isn't quite ready to pronounce that their performance is better than that of those champion Bears', but "it was good enough to make the trailer, which was awesome," says the California native, 23, who's in his second year in the NFL.

Directed by Elizabeth Banks, the sequel to the 2012 popular musical comedy finds Beca (Anna Kendrick), Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) and the rest of the Barden Bellas competing with the best vocal groups in the world. Just like in the first movie, there's an epic "riff-off" sequence with lots of musical groups, including one with a bunch of 300-pound guys who usually showcase their talents at Green Bay's Lambeau Field.

Matthews gets his sleeves ripped off and flexes his sizable biceps in the trailer, causing Fat Amy to reply, "I could be the ham in that man sandwich."

The Packers worked out their own choreography, but Bakhtiari is secretive when it comes to what song they may be singing. "We have extremely good voices outside of the movie and we've got unbelievable footwork," he says. "If I was a betting man, I would assume they'd try and implement that."

He's a longtime Pitch Perfect devotee and shared the film with his fellow linemen, who became equally enamored. (Matthews "probably won't ever come out and say it, but he's a closet fan," says Bakhtiari.) They quote lines and play the soundtrack in the locker room, and have even been known to drive to practice lip-syncing to tracks by the Bellas.

Packers lineman David Bakhtiari can't pick a favorite among Beca (center, Anna Kendrick) and her fellow Barden Bellas in "Pitch Perfect 2."(Photo: Richard Cartwright/Universal Pictures)

During his rookie year, Bakhtiari often would tweet about Pitch Perfect, and even sent actress Alexis Knapp a message that the "o-line" wanted in on a sequel. Producer Max Handelman, Banks' husband, noticed his fandom and followed him on Twitter, and they scheduled the Packers to come down to Baton Rouge, La., for four days this past summer to film their scene.

"I was extremely happy that the one-in-a-million shot ended up working," Bakhtiari says. "When we got there, it spiced some things up."

Banks is a director who thrives on energy, she says, and the enthusiasm and excitement the Packers brought to Pitch Perfect was infectious."

If he's ranking himself against his fellow Packers in their big scene, "looks-wise I'm on top," Bakhtiari says. "Singing-wise, I'm probably middle of the pack. T.J. Lang, I've gotta give him props, he probably has the best voice. Josh, too, but he's too shy to let it out. And all of us have some sweet moves."

He found Banks to be a good coach on set. "She's open and she's good at getting what she wants out of individuals. The biggest thing is she's passionate and she loves what she does."

Does Bakhtiari have a favorite Bella, though?

"That's a trap question," he says with a chuckle. "I love them all, each one of them in their own way."

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Source: http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2014/11/21/green-bay-packers-pitch-perfect-2-sneak-peek/70038924/

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