"Pitch Perfect 2" Strikes The Right Note At The Box Office

It’s Pitch Perfect 2 weekend and the Friday-Sunday box office reflects that. With an unexpected $70,3 million domestic gross, the musical comedy blew past Mad Max: Fury Road to become the box office champion this weekend.

The Hunger Games) - makes her directorial debut, as well as reprises her role as an acerbic commentator.More: Anna Kendrick Had Her Doubts about Pitch Perfect 2

The success of Pitch Perfect wasn’t entirely unpredicted. Critics were pretty impressed with the song-driven sequel, which cost $29 million to make -- it has a 68% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Fans gave it an even warmer reception, with opening night audiences grading the film an A-, according to CinemaScore, which tracks moviegoers' reactions.

Watch the Pitch Perfect 2 trailer below.

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It is still a musical comedy though, whereas the apocalyptic Mad Max: Fury Road was much more of a critical favourite ahead of its release. The George Miller franchise earned a stunning 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a B+ audience grade from CinemaScore.

You may have noticed a conspicuous lack of Age of Ultron from that recap. This is because the Marvel juggernaut was finally knocked off number one this week. Its $38.8 million weekend gross put it in third place.