‘The Wolverine’ is No. 1, but comes in far below expectations

Though “The Wolverine� slashed away box office rivals this weekend, the superhero’s biggest foe turned out to be himself.

The 3-D superhero sequel starring Hugh Jackman debuted with $55 million, according to an estimate from distributor 20th Century Fox -- $30 million less than the original “X-Men Origins: Wolverine� started off with in 2009. Heading into the weekend, pre-release audience surveys suggested the new “Wolverine� had the potential to gross as much as $80 million. Even Fox projected its movie would debut with around $60 million.

Instead, the film got off to a far slower start than expected, coming in well behind the $85 million debut of “Origins,� which went on to gross $373 million worldwide. In fact, “The Wolverine� had the lowest opening of any movie in the “X-Men� universe since the 2000 original, which has since spawned four sequels based on the Marvel Comic. Another, “X-Men: Days of Future Past,� is planned for release next summer, and Jackman’s character plays a prominent role in it.

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If Fox’s executives were disappointed by the weekend result for “The Wolverine,� they were doing a good job of hiding it Sunday morning.

“This is a great result and we couldn’t be happier,� said Chris Aronson, the studio’s president of domestic distribution. As to why the sequel is trailing the original, he said only that “it was a different time� when the first “Wolverine� came out. Furthermore, he added, industry tracking “has been sketchy all summer.�

It’s possible, however, that “The Wolverine� was hurt by the bad impression the 2009 entry left with moviegoers. While its predecessor was not well-liked by critics or fans, the sequel earned strong reviews. Those who saw the film this weekend assigned it an average grade of A-, according to market research firm CinemaScore. About 58% of the weekend crowd was male, while the same percent of the audience was age 25 or over.

Though “The Wolverine� failed to amaze at the box office this weekend, its launch is hardly disastrous for a $120-million production. The movie will likely do solid business overseas, where the film opened with $86.1 million -- the biggest international launch for any “X-Men� film.

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Meanwhile, the weekend’s runner-up was the low-budget horror flick “The Conjuring.� The film, a surprise No. 1 upon its debut, saw its ticket sales drop just 47% to $22.1 million during its second weekend in release. The $20-million production has now collected $83.9 million and could soon become the top-grossing horror film of the year.

In more limited release, CBS Films opened its R-rated comedy “The To Do List� to so-so results. Playing in roughly 600 theaters, the movie grossed $1.5 million -- the same amount as it cost to produce the film starring Aubrey Plaza as a virgin eager to have her first sexual experience. While that’s a respectable start for a movie with such a low budget, the picture will have to generate strong word-of-mouth in the coming weeks if it is to become more of a commercial hit. Those who saw the movie this weekend -- a 60% female audience -- did appear to like it, giving the film an average grade of A.

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