Big Hero 6 is on track to rake in a little over $56-million this weekend, edging out Interstellar for the top spot at the U.S. box office.
Both titles performed well, with Disney's new animated tentpole more or less matching low-end earning predictions and Christopher Nolan's sci fi epic drawing about $50-million. Lump in the $2.2-million Interstellar earned from its early, film-first opening, and it brings the film's domestic five-day debut to $52.2-million.
Still, Interstellar dominated internationally. Here's THR:
Overseas, Interstellar debuted on par with Gravity in 62 markets, grossing $80 million for a worldwide launch of $132.2 million. Big Hero 6, which is rolling out slowly internationally, grossed $7.6 million for an early foreign total of $23 million and world cume of $79.2 million (it opened two weeks earlier in Russia).
While nowhere near as successful as Guardians of the Galaxy and its $94-million opening, Big Hero 6's weekend earnings have demonstrated yet again the marketability of obscure Marvel properties. We'll see if it has staying power.