Box Office: 'Ant-Man' Is Tops, but 'Trainwreck' Scores for Amazing Amy
The North American box office was a mixed bag this weekend.
While Amy Schumer’s R-rated comedy Trainwreck overperformed, Disney and Marvel’s Ant-Man came in somewhat behind expectations with $58 million. While that’s certainly not a shabby number, it marks the lowest debut for Marvel Studios since it went solo and launched its cinematic universe, beginning with Iron Man.
The opposite was true overseas, where Ant-Man earned $56.4 million from its first 37 markets, well ahead of the first Captain America and Thor. That puts Ant-Man’s global bow at $114.4 million.
Ant-Man, starring Paul Rudd as the world’s tiniest superhero, still easily claimed the top spot ahead of holdover Minions, which took in $50.2 million in its second weekend for a domestic total of $216.7 million. Ant-Man, earning a promising A CinemaScore, is by the far the most comedic and family-friendly superhero film to to hit the big screen, vying with Minions for family love (indeed, Minions fell a hefty 57 percent).
Heading into the weekend, Ant-Man was expected to debut to $60 million-$65 million. As a way of comparison, the first Thor and Captain America installments both opened to roughly $65 million as Marvel went about launching new franchises featuring lessor-known superheroes. And last summer, Guardians of the Galaxy stunned in launching to $94.3 million domestically.
Directed by Peyton Reed, Ant-Man stars Rudd as con-man Scott Lang who, armed with a super-suit with the ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, attempts to pull off a heist that will save the world. The superhero film, costing $130 million to produce and taking years to get right, also stars Michael Douglas and Corey Stoll, cost $130 million to produce.
Ant-Man saw plenty of behind-the-scenes drama throughout its making and took a decade to arrive on the big screen. Director Edgar Wright worked on the film for years with writer Joe Cornish, but he abruptly left the project in May 2014 over creative differences. Reed was brought in as Wright’s replacement, while Adam McKay, who directed Rudd in Anchorman, was brought aboard to work on the script with Rudd.
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Thunderstorms and rain in Southern California didn’t seem to dampen moviegoing overall — some theaters even saw a boost in traffic — although Ant-Man didn’t seem to benefit.
Conversely, Trainwreck was up on Saturday for a $30.2 million weekend, almost matching Knocked Up ($30.9 million) to mark the best debut of Judd Apatow’s directing career. Trainwreck exceeded expectations and is a big win for comedian Amy Schumer as she makes her feature film debut. Heading into the weekend, the Universal movie was expected to open to $20 million.
Schumer both stars in and scripted Trainwreck. The comedy, earning an A- CinemaScore and costing a modest $35 million to make, is the fifth film directed by Apatow, and the first he didn’t also write.
The story centers on Schumer’s character, a commitment-phobic career woman who doesn’t believe in monogamy, who may have to face her fears when she meets a good guy. Bill Haderand LeBron James also star.
Pixar and Disney’s Inside Out placed No. 4 in is fifth weekend, grossing $11.7 million to jump the $300 million mark domestically with a total of $306.4 million through Sunday and a global cume of $490.1 million. Jurassic World rounded out the top five in its sixth outing with $11.4 million for a domestic total of $611.1 million for Universal.
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At the specialty box office, Woody Allen’s An Irrational Man launched to $188,115 from five theaters for Sony Pictures Classics, the lowest debut for the director in five years. The mystery drama stars Joaquin Phoenix, Parker Posey, Jamie Blackley and Emma Stone.
However, An Irrational Man’s screen average of $37,623 was higher than Allen’s last film, To Rome With Love, which debuted to $361,359 in 17 theaters for a screen average of $24,241. And Irrational Man’s screen average is among the highest so far this year.
Bill Condon’s Mr. Holmes, starring Ian McKellan as Sherlock Holmes, opted for a larger footprint. The movie opened to an estimated $2.4 million from 363 locations, good enough for an eleventh-place finish. Roadside Attractions is releasing the film in the U.S.
Watch an interview with ‘Ant-Man’ stars Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily below:
