Box Office Report: 'Hangover II' Grosses $31.7 Million Opening Day

Melinda Sue Gordon/Warner Bros Pictures

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Warner Bros.? The Hangover Part II grossed $31.7 million as it opened at the domestic box office, nabbing the third best Thursday gross of all time. Younger moviegoers--who have been AWOL from the multiplex--returned in force to see the R-rated comedy, with 54% of Thursday's audience under the age of 25.

DreamWorks Animation and Paramount?s Kung Fu Panda?sequel also did good business in its debut, grossing $5.8 million on Thursday. Traffic for Kung Fu Panda should pick up today as more and more kids get out of school for summer break (as of today, 20% of students K-12 will be sprung).

Together, the two sequels should make for a strong Memorial Day weekend in terms of box office revenues. Kung Fu Panda received a stellar A CinemaScore; Hangover, an A- (moviegoers under the age of 18 gave Hangover an A+).

Hangover is on track to gross $110 to $125 million for the Thursday-Monday stretch--the best debut of the year, and the highest ever for an R-rated comedy--while Kung Fu Panda should gross $65 million to $70 million, in line with expectations.

Hangover?s Friday?s tally of $31.7 million included $10.4 million in midnight runs, an all-time high for an R-rated film. Hangover was co-financed by Warner Bros. and partner Legendary Pictures.

According to exit data, Hangover played almost evenly among the genders (51% were females), while 41% of those buying tickets were between the ages of 18-24, while 13% were under the age of 18.

Among films opening on a Thursday, Hangover comes in No. 3, behind Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith ($50 million) and The Matrix Reloaded ($42.5 million). It beat Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones ($30.1 million) and, more recently, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull ($25 million).

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/news/~3/UNQK26035VI/box-office-report-hangover-ii-192776

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