Neighbors, a Universal Pictures comedy starring Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, opened as the top weekend film in U.S. and Canadian theaters, handily beating one estimate and toppling The Amazing Spider-Man 2 from the week before.
Neighbors took in sales of $49 million, researcher Rentrak Corp. said Sunday. Columbia’s Spider-Man collected $35.5 million in its second week, while the low-budget film Moms’ Night Out, also from Columbia, opened with $4.3 million, trailing estimates. A third new release, Clarius Entertainment LLC’s Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return, produced $3.7 million and finished at No. 8.
Hollywood tackled the second weekend of the summer film season with an eclectic mix of films appealing to fans from different demographic groups. Rogen and Efron each have followings, while the animated Legends of Oz catered to children and Spider-Man drew superhero lovers. Moms’ Night Out targeted women on Mother’s Day weekend.
The movie was the fourthbest R-rated debut ever, with Ted posting the highest at $54.4 million in June 2012, according to Rentrak.
The neighbors are Rogen, a popular figure in comedies, with Efron, a Disney Channel heartthrob who starred in the High School Musical TV movies and has graduated to adult roles.
Rogen plays the husband and family man, Mac Radner, whose quiet life is upended when fraternity president Teddy Sanders, played by Efron, moves in next door with his buddies.
Neighbors was made for about $18 million, according to Box Office Mojo, an industry researcher. It was forecast to produce opening-weekend sales of $39 million for theaters and Universal Pictures, the estimate of Box-Office.com. The film had a 74 percent positive rating at Rottentomatoes.com, which sums up reviews with a single number.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2, featuring Andrew Garfield in the title role for the second time, was expected to take in $37 million last weekend, BoxOffice.com estimated.
Garfield returns as the sensitive high school student Peter Parker, endowed with the super powers that make him Spider-Man.
In this installment, Parker faces the villains Electro, played by Jamie Foxx, and the Green Goblin (Dane De-Haan), and is torn between saving the streets of New York and protecting his girlfriend, Gwen Stacy, played again by Emma Stone.
The comedy Moms’ Night Out placed seventh in its debut. The film features Sarah Drew as Allyson, a mom who wants to enjoy an adult night out with friends. She, like her pals, counts on her husband to keep an eye on the kids for three hours, according to a synopsis from the studio.
The picture turns into a road movie of sorts, with stops at a tattoo parlor and jail, along with a car chase. BoxOffice.com projected weekend sales of $7 million.
Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return, distributed in the United States by Clarius, features Lea Michele as the voice of the Midwestern girl Dorothy, along with Dan Aykroyd as the Scarecrow, Kelsey Grammer as the Tin Man and Jim Belushi as the Cowardly Lion.
The animated feature follows the continuing adventures of Dorothy, who wakes up in post-tornado Kansas, and then returns to Oz to save her friends from a new villain.