Can Melissa McCarthy Stop Infinity War from Another Box Office Win?

While Marvel’sInfinity Warhad no trouble repeating atop the box office for a second weekend in a row last weekend, with $114.7 million, it came up far short of the second weekend record of $149.2 million, set byStar Wars: The Force Awakensin December 2015. Barring a box office miracle, it will also fall short of the third weekend record of $90.2 million, also set byStar Wars: The Force Awakens. While it seems that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are done breaking box office records, it will still have no problem winning for a third weekend in a row, with a projected $60.2 million, easily beating out two newcomers, Universal’s thrillerBreaking Inand New Line’sMelissa McCarthycomedyLife of the Party.

Our $60.2 millionBox Officeprojection represents a 49% drop from last weekend’s final take, which is an improvement over week two’s 55.5% dip fromAvengers: Infinity War’srecord-breaking opening weekendof $257.6 million. That mark easily broke the $247.9 million record set in 2015 byStar Wars: The Force Awakens, but that movie had surprisingly minimal drops in its second and third weekends, which allowed the movie to set records in those frames. A 55.5% drop in the second weekend might still be a tad higher than normal, but it’s still roughly par for the course for a blockbuster likeAvengers: Infinity Warto drop about half of its opening weekend in the second frame.The Force Awakensset records by dropping just 39.8% in its second frame ($149.2 million) and another 39.5% in its third weekend ($90.2 million).

Last weekend,Avengers: Infinity Warfaced three newcomers, Focus Features’Tully, Electric Entertainment’sBad Samaritanand Pantelion’sOverboard, and while the comedy remakeOverboardfared much better than expected, none of those movies debuted in more than 2,000 theaters. While this weekend’s two newcomers, Universal’sBreaking Inand New Line’sLife Of the Partystill don’t have a shot at dethroningAvengers: Infinity War, they will roll out much wider than last week’s predecessors, withLife of the Partydebuting in 3,500 theaters andBreaking Inarriving in 2,500 theaters.

NeitherLife of the PartynorBreaking Inhave enough reviews posted on Rotten Tomatoes yet to warrant a TomatoMeter score at this time, but we’re projecting thatLife of the Partywill debut in second place with $24.6 million, followed byBreaking Intaking third place with $16.8 million. This weekend also marks a rarity, with both new releases featuringfemale lead characters. Melissa McCarthy leadsLife of the Party, which follows a spurned housewife who heads back to college. And Gabrielle Union headlinesBreaking In, about a mom who must rescue her kids from a home invasion. No production budget was listed for either movie, but both were likely produced on rather modest budgets, at least compared toAvengers: Infinity War, and if each movie pulls off a solid opening weekend, they could become two profitable sleeper hits this summer.

We’re projecting the top 10 will be rounded out byOverboard($7.8 million),A Quiet Place($4.9 million),I Feel Pretty($3.1 million),Rampage($3 million)Tully($2.1 million),Black Panther($1.9 million) andTruth or Dare($1 million).Avengers: Infinity Warwill likely have its three-week reign atop the box office come to a close next weekend, though, when it goes up against 20th Century Fox’s highly-anticipatedDeadpool 2, which has been tracking at an opening weekend of $150 million. The Merc With the Mouth will also go up against the Paramount comedyBook Cluband Global Road’s comedyShow Dogsnext weekend. Take a look at the projected top 10 below, and check back on Sunday for the box office estimates, courtesy ofBox Office Mojo.