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Plenty of grunt ... Tom Hardy in Mad Max: Fury Road. Picture: Jasin Boland/Warner Bros. Source: AP
MAD Max burned rubber at the Australian box office over the weekend, but the Barden Bellas kicked the Road Warrior’s butt in the US, where Pitch Perfect 2 opened to the tune of $US70.3 million.
Internationally, the hotly-anticipated fourth film in George Miller’s apocalyptic franchise also had plenty of grunt - mowing down the opposition with a $US109.4 million tally worldwide.
Fury Road was No 1 at the box office in almost 40 territories, including Australia, where it had the home town advantage, France, Russia, Korea and Scandinavia.
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The US charts, however, sang a very different tune.
Starring Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson, Pitch Perfect 2 grossed more in its first weekend than the original a capella film earned in its entire North American theatrical run.
Pitch slapped ... Rebel Wilson and Anna Kendrick in Pitch Perfect 2. Source: Supplied
Opening on marginally more screens, Tom Hardy’s road warrior throttled back to $US44.4 million and the No 2 spot.
And while Max bumped the Bellas from the No 1 spot in Australia this week (grossing $6.19 million dollars on 542 screens), Pitch Perfect 2’s opening figures for the previous weekend were significantly higher ($10.03 million on 427 screens).
On the back of rave reviews, however, and spectacular scenery and stunt action, Mad Max is expected to have longer theatrical legs than the musical sleeper.
Already the highest grossing film in the Mad Max franchise, the film has scored an impressive 98 per cent “fresh†score on critical aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes.
“It’s truly gratifying to see the fantastic critical reaction translate to such strong numbers at the box office,’’ said Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros Pictures.