Box Office

From ew, Will Smith returned to theaters for the first time since 2008′s Seven Pounds with this weekend’s Men in Black 3, which put the A-list celeb back on top of the box office. Sony’s $230 million (some reports suggest a much higher budget) alien-zapping sequel earned an estimated $70 million over the extended Memorial Day weekend.

Men in Black 3 will easily become Smith’s thirteenth film to earn over $100 million at the box office — a truly impressive feat — but its opening weekend actually leaves much to be desired. Over the three-day portion of the weekend, MIB 3 grossed $55 million, which was higher than the debuts of Men in Black ($51.1 million) and Men in Black II ($52.1 million). (Due to higher ticket prices, 3-D surcharges, and IMAX fees, though, it sold far fewer tickets than its predecessors.) The original Men in Black earned $250.7 million in 1997. Men in Black II scored $190.4 million in 2002. Adjusting for ticket-price inflation, those totals soar to $432.6 million and $259.6 million, respectively. In today’s frontloaded box office culture, Men in Black 3 won’t likely reach those heights.

Sony says the film has taken in $133.2 million overseas and topped the box office in 104 countries. That gives the sequel a worldwide total of $203.2 million, and hopefully sets the stage for a lucrative run, because — between production, marketing, and distribution costs — MIB 3 likely needs to take in at least $650 million just to break even. That means the sequel will need great word-of-mouth from audiences (57 percent of which were above the age of 25) who issued MIB 3 a “B+” CinemaScore grade.

Marvel’s The Avengers grossed another mind-blowing $46.9 million over the four day frame. The Disney-distributed superhero ensemble, which on Saturday passed the $500 million mark faster than any other film, has grossed $523.6 million (by Saturday, it will have surpassed The Dark Knight‘s $533.4 million total to become the third highest-grossing film of all time), and has scored over $1.3 billion worldwide. It’s those sorts of numbers that justify Avengers‘ $220 million budget.

Full analysis here