In what has been a pleasant surprise undoubtedly for Marvel, X-Men: First Class is now operating at a week-to-week parity with the franchise’s immediate predecessor, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. This is surely a sign that will bode well for the X-Men: First Class trilogy that has been talked about since prior to the film’s release.
Here is a little elaboration for those not in the know. Last week, First Class premiered to roughly $56 million which is pretty decent, but not for X-Men. In fact, it only beat out the original X-Men film in terms of weekend gross or it would have been the worst opening for the franchise.
By comparison, Wolverine debuted to $85 million in May of 2009 and dropped a whopping 69% the second weekend to $26 million. Where does First Class lye in its second weekend? With the final studio estimates in, the latest X-Men film grossed $25 million in its opening weekend (which could go up or down when the box office actuals come out tomorrow, but not by much).