US audiences have proved they love a Hangover, with The Hangover Part II scoring $105.8 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend and $137 million since it opened on Thursday. That’s an incredibly good start, making it the biggest debut for a live-action comedy and the highest opening gross for an R-rated movie (although technically if it were a normal three-day weekend, The Matrix Reloaded would still hold that title). It’s particularly unusual as comedies tend to gross less with each continuing sequel, but The Hangover is eschewing that – so far, at least.
Kung Fu Panda 2 also did okay, taking $62 million in its first four days. That’s about on par with what the first movie did on its debut, although that film only had three days in which to do it. It suggests there’s not quite as much demand for this follow-up, but it’s still not bad, with the real question being how its gross holds up over the coming weeks. It’s also interesting that like Pirates 4 last weekend, less than 50% of the business was for 3D showings, suggesting that many audience members are tiring of that format and just want the old-fashioned, cheaper, 2D experience.
Talking of Pirates 4, it continued to underperform in the US, dropping nearly 50% from last weekend, despite the extra holiday day. With $163 million so far, it’s now trailing the gross of where all three previous Pirates movies were at the same stage in the US, but internationally it’s been a massive success, crossing the $600 million mark over the weekend.
Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris made its first appearance in the top 10 after a very successful debut in four cinemas last week. It took $3.5 million at only 54 locations, or $60,000 per theatre, double what any other movie in the top 10 did). It suggests that at this rate, the film will be Allen’s biggest hit in decades by the end of its run.
Further down the list was Terrence Malick’s The Tree Of Life, which opened on only four screens, but took $489,000. That’s over $122,000 per theater, which is a truly impressive amount for the Palm d’Or winner, and hint that it could go on to go very good things as its release expands.
Take a look below for the US Memorial Day weekend box office top 10:
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | The Hangover Part II | $105.7 | $137.3 |
| 2 | Kung Fu Panda 2 | $62.2 | $68.9 |
| 3 | Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | $50.3 | $163.9 |
| 4 | Bridesmaids | $20.9 | $89.5 |
| 5 | Thor | $12.0 | $162.3 |
| 6 | Fast Five | $8.1 | $197.5 |
| 7 | Midnight In Paris | $3.5 | $3.5 |
| 8 | Something Borrowed | $2.4 | $135.4 |
| 9 | Rio | $2.3 | $34.6 |
| 10 | Jumping The Broom | $2.3 | $35.2 |