'Angry Birds' knocks 'Captain America' off the top spot at the box office
In an impressive performance by the Sony title based on the popular app, the movie took in an estimated $39 million over the weekend, according to Exhibitor Relations.
"Captain America: Civil War" took in $33.1 million in a strong third week in theaters. The film has also passed the $1 billion worldwide gross mark.
What makes the "Angry Birds" win impressive is its rebound from the soft Thursday previews it had.
Taking in an okay $800,000 versus fellow new release "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising," which earned $1.67 million in previews, "Birds" ended up making $10.9 million on Friday while "Neighbors 2" made just $8.8 million on its Friday, according to Deadline.
That shift in momentum set the stage for the dominance by "Birds" the rest of the weekend.
"Neighbors 2" ended up in third place with $21.8 million.
However, Sony must be excited with a potential franchise for "Angry Birds." The movie had a 16% spike in sales from Friday to Saturday, as it took in $16.6 million on Saturday.
The movie showcased the memorable components that made the app so popular matched with celebrities voicing the characters, including Danny McBride, Jason Sudeikis, and Josh Gad.
The other big release of the weekend, "The Nice Guys," starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as bumbling private detectives, took in $11.27 million. Warner Bros. wasn't expecting the movie to do any major damage over the weekend, but they must be happy with it taking in this much as it's geared towards the over-30 crowd (who rarely come out in droves for the opening weekend of a movie).