Ant-Man No. 1; Marvel on a roll

Paul Rudd has the lead role in Marvel’s new action film Ant-Man. It came in first at last weekend’s box office and made $57.2 million.
Paul Rudd has the lead role in Marvel’s new action film Ant-Man. It came in first at last weekend’s box office and made $57.2 million.

LOS ANGELES -- Superhero film Ant-Man topped the weekend with $57.2 million, marking the 12th consecutive Marvel film to open in first place.

The film's opening is on par with Marvel's The Incredible Hulk, which premiered with $55 million in the United States and Canada in 2008. Hulk went on to collect $134.8 million domestically and $236.4 million worldwide.

"We're off to a good start," said Dave Hollis.

Ant-Man, which reportedly cost $130 million to make, is about a lesser-known comic book hero. The film stars Paul Rudd as the titular character, a thief named Scott Lang and the second superhero to take the name Ant-Man. Lang is given a second chance by the original Ant-Man (Michael Douglas). Together, they help protect the secret behind the Ant-Man suit, which enables its wearer to shrink while enjoying increased strength.

"It's going to take a little more time for this one to find every part of its audience because of it being a less known character," Hollis added. "But I think the most encouraging thing that we've heard is that plenty of people are commenting on how surprised they were by how much they liked it. It's those kind of endorsements that will bring people back in."

Moviegoers gave it an A grade from audience polling firm CinemaScore. Males made up the majority of audiences (58 percent) and 55 percent of audiences were over the age of 25. Internationally, Ant-Man collected $56 million in 27 markets, making the global haul a strong $114 million. An estimated $9.2 million of the global total came from Imax screens.

Meanwhile, Universal Pictures had three films in the top five last weekend domestically, the first time the studio has accomplished such a feat since 2003.

Minions fell 57 percent in its second weekend, to second place. It added $49.3 million to its domestic gross, making its haul about $216 million.

The animated film, featuring the voice of Sandra Bullock as super-villain Scarlet Overkill and co-starring Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Allison Janney and Steve Coogan, was produced by Universal and Illumination Entertainment for $74 million.

Universal's Trainwreck, directed by Judd Apatow, had a better-than-expected opening, coming in at No. 3 with a solid $30 million. The film, which cost $35 million to make, is Apatow's fifth feature and second-highest opening after the $30.7 million opening for Knocked Up in 2007.

"I thought it was going to outpace what tracking indicated," said Nick Carpou, Universal's head of domestic distribution. "Amy Schumer is a star. And I think Judd has a way of presenting new talent in a way that absolutely gets people motivated to check them out."

The comedy stars Schumer as a magazine writer struggling with monogamy after meeting a down-to-earth sports doctor (Bill Hader). The film co-stars Brie Larson, John Cena, Colin Quinn, Tilda Swinton and NBA superstar LeBron James.

Females again flexed their box-office might, turning out in masses to see the comedy. An estimated 66 percent of audiences were female and 63 percent were ages 30 and up.

Many critics and audiences hailed Schumer's big screen debut as hilarious. Moviegoers gave the film an A-minus rating on CinemaScore. It racked up an 85 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Coming in at fourth, Pixar's Inside Out added $11.5 million in its fourth weekend at the domestic box office. Its total North American haul is about $306 million, making it the third-highest grossing Pixar movie of all time behind Toy Story 3 and Finding Nemo.

Universal's Jurassic World crossed the $600 million mark in North America, adding $11.5 million in its sixth weekend in release.

In limited release, Woody Allen's dramatic comedy Irrational Man debuted in five locations with $188,100, a per theater average of $37,620.

If estimates hold, the box office will be up 30 percent from the same period last year. Year-to-date, the 2015 box office is already up 8.9 percent.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Monday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak:

1. Ant-Man, Disney, $57,225,526, 3,856 locations, $14,841 average, $57,225,526, one week.

2. Minions, Universal, $49,274,730, 4,311 locations, $11,430 average, $215,766,440, two weeks.

3. Trainwreck, Universal, $30,097,040, 3,158 locations, $9,530 average, $30,097,040, one week.

4. Inside Out, Disney, $11,544,080, 3,263 locations, $3,538 average, $306,247,046, five weeks.

5. Jurassic World, Universal, $11,454,975, 3,117 locations, $3,675 average, $611,228,810, six weeks.

6. Terminator Genisys, Paramount, $5,402,189, 2,814 locations, $1,920 average, $80,642,314, three weeks.

7. Magic Mike XXL, Warner Bros., $4,448,045, 2,577 locations, $1,726 average, $58,584,009, three weeks.

8. Gallows, Warner Bros., $4,011,094, 2,720 locations, $1,475 average, $18,012,685, two weeks.

9. Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Eros Entertainment, $2,621,282, 257 locations, $10,200 average, $2,621,282, one week.

10. Ted 2, Universal, $2,602,390, 1,582 locations, $1,645 average, $77,359,250, four weeks.

11. Mr. Holmes, Roadside Attractions, $2,434,908, 361 locations, $6,745 average, $2,434,908, one week.

12. Self/Less, Focus Features, $2,268,476, 2,353 locations, $964 average, $10,331,633, two weeks.

13. Max, Warner Bros., $1,912,435, 1,508 locations, $1,268 average, $37,888,090, four weeks.

14. Spy, 20th Century Fox, $1,506,082, 939 locations, $1,604 average, $106,598,905, seven weeks.

15. Amy, A24 Films, $1,110,210, 435 locations, $2,552 average, $4,177,507, three weeks.

16. Baahubali (Telugu), BlueSky Cinemas, $1,014,840, 160 locations, $6,343 average, $6,109,888, two weeks.

17. San Andreas, Warner Bros., $589,541, 402 locations, $1,467 average, $151,244,307, eight weeks.

18. Avengers: Age of Ultron, Disney, $468,050, 292 locations, $1,603 average, $455,998,417, 12 weeks.

19. Mad Max: Fury Road, Warner Bros., $384,349, 268 locations, $1,434 average, $150,986,661, 10 weeks.

20. Dope, Open Road, $297,352, 221 locations, $1,345 average, $16,118,815, five weeks.

MovieStyle on 07/24/2015

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