As expected, Disney and Marvel Studios’ “Captain Marvel” has become the first smash box office hit of 2019. After making $61.4 million from 4,310 screens on Friday — including $20.7 million from Thursday previews — the MCU’s first female solo superhero film is looking at a $155 million domestic opening weekend.
If that number holds, it would rank third on the all-time March opening weekends list, behind the $174.7 million opening of the 2017 “Beauty and the Beast” remake and the $166 million opening of 2016’s “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.” It would also beat the $152.5 million opening earned by “The Hunger Games” in 2012.
And if the film continues to overindex on Saturday and Sunday, “Captain Marvel” could set a new record for the highest opening weekend for a film with a solo female lead. That record currently belongs to the “Hunger Games” sequel “Catching Fire,” which opened to $158 million in November 2013.
While internet trolls have besieged the “Captain Marvel” Rotten Tomatoes audience score, opening night audiences loved the new film in CinemaScore polls, giving it an A. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes were somewhat less enthused but still positive with a 79 percent score.
In second is Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” which is holding up well in its third weekend despite the heavy competition from “Captain Marvel.” The animated threequel’s estimated weekend total of $15 million is higher than the third weekend total “How to Train Your Dragon 2” made in 2014, and will push the film’s domestic total to $120 million.
Lionsgate’s “A Madea Family Funeral” is in third with an estimated $11.7 million second weekend total, which would be a 57 percent drop from its $27 million opening and give it a 10-day total of $45 million.
WB’s “The Lego Movie 2” and Fox’s “Alita: Battle Angel” complete the top five, with “Lego” taking $3.7 million in its fifth weekend while “Alita” takes $3.3 million in its fourth weekend.