Now You See Me Beats After Earth At The US Box Office

US audiences couldn’t get enough of movies over the Memorial Day holiday, but the box office came down to earth with a bump this weekend. While Fast & Furious 6 held onto the number 1 spot, it dropped nearly 65% from its opening to take $34.5 million. The Hangover Part II also dropped 60% in its second weekend, with $15.9 million and a sixth place finish.

The new openers saw one film exceed expectations and another severely disappoint them. The magician-themed Now You See Me placed second with $28 million, way ahead of what many had expected, particularly when cinemas are crowded in big summer action fare. However audiences seemed to like the idea, giving it a far better start than most had thought.

M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth meanwhile massive underperformed with $27 million. That’s in between the openings of box office bombs Battleship and John Carter, which doesn’t bode well for a movie that cost over $130 million to make. Even the presence of Will Smith, who’s normally a solid draw, could get enough people to part with their cash to put this on the way to being profitable.

There was one more new entry, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, which placed ninth with $1.65 million. It’s rare for a Bollywood movie to make the box office top 10 in the US, so this one has done exceptionally well.

Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of May 31st-June 2nd.