The numbers are in for Magic Mike XXL‘s opening weekend in the US, and they are simultaneously surprising and not at all surprising, confirming a strong thirst for a possible glimpse of Channing Tatum‘s unit among female movie-goers.
In fact, exit polls (hah) from the movie, which opened in the US in time for the Fourth of July weekend, found that a staggering 96% of audience members were female.
It’s not quite clear whether that’s a record, but it’s still a whole lot of ladies lining up for Tatum’s oiled-up rig, up from 73% when the first Magic Mike opened back in 2012.
That said, overall numbers were a bit flaccid. Magic Mike XXL made $US 27.1 million in its first five days in the US, opening in fourth place, compared with $US 39.1 million for the first film.
This could be because the original was marketed as eye candy but delivered only a little taste of that, amidst a fairly low-key, dramatic storyline, scaring viewers off a second time around.
Still, with a budget of just $US 14.8 million, the film’s world-wide gross of $US 32 million and counting means it’s already super profitable, and they could probably just keep churning out more, Paranormal Activity-style.
While Magic Mike XXL could be considered a success on those terms, the same can’t be said of Terminator: Genisys, which opened in third place overall in the US, behind Inside Out and Jurassic World, which is still holding on to number one.
Terminator cost $US 155 million to make, but pulled in just $US 44.1 million in its opening days, which, for a film of this size and scale, is basically the equivalent of a liquid metal arm through the noggin.
With worldwide box office taken into account, Terminator currently sits at a total gross of $US 129.6 million, meaning that, if nothing else, those sequels will happen.
They probably won’t open spitting distance of the next Jurassic World instalment, though.
Magic Mike XXL is out Thursday July 9 in Australia. Terminator: Genisys, Jurassic World and Inside Out are out now.