The Gabrielle Union thriller Breaking In debuted at the box office with a solid $16.5 million this weekend in North America.
That was enough to take third place after the Disney-Marvel blockbuster, Avengers: Infinity War, which raked in another $61.8 million in its third outing, and New Line’s Melissa McCarthy comedy, Life of the Party, which opened in second place with $18.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
Life of the Party marked McCarthy’s lowest opening in recent years, after Ghostbusters (2016) debuted with $46 million, The Boss (2016) opened with $23.5 million and Spy (2015) premiered with $29 million.
Life of the Party and Breaking In – both mom themed – were timed to launch over the Mother’s Day weekend.
While Breaking In brought in $2 million less than Life of the Party, the Will Packer-Gabrielle Union production was released in 2,537 theaters, while Life of the Party played in 3,656 theaters.
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Breaking In, about a woman fighting to rescue her two children who are being held hostage after a home invasion, is Union’s first major studio lead. James McTeigue (V for Vendetta and The Raven) directed the film.
Critics clobbered the thriller, giving it a 27 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers called it “a dull, dim-witted con job,” and Variety reviewer Andrew Barker criticized the film for having a “wafer-thin premise.” Still, Inkoo Kang of The Wrap did highlight some positives, noting that the “twists and turns are plentiful.”
Breaking In rang up an impressive $6,504 per-theater average. Although it was no match to Infinity War, which averaged $13,817 per theater, and continues to shatter records.
Since its release on April 27, Infinity War has earned a staggering $547,829,103 domestically and $1.6 billion worldwide. It’s now the top-grossing superhero film of all time at the worldwide box office after passing The Avengers ($1.519 billion).
