The Amazing Spider-Man 2 was officially knocked from its web at the top of the North American box office this weekend.
Director Nicholas Stoller’s Neighbors , a film that finds Zac Efron and his famous abs squaring off against Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, had no trouble convincing lots of moviegoers to shell out money for tickets. According to The Associated Press , the comedy earned an impressive $51 million during its first three days of release.
“Sustaining a number one ranking is generally tougher in the summer than any other time of year. You don’t expect a comedy to be able to unseat an epic blockbuster, but historically it happens more than you think,” Rentrak’s Paul Dergarabedian explained.
Unfortunately for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 , audiences weren’t as excited to see the flick as they were last weekend. The superhero flick earned an additional $34.4 million at the box office this weekend, though it’s clear that moviegoers are quickly moving on to the latest summer flick. Since Gozilla is finally headed to the big screen in the US next weekend, chances are Spider-Man 2 will continue to tumble down the chart.
The Hollywood Reporter points out that Marc Webb’s follow-up dropped 59 percent during its second week of release. While this probably isn’t the sort of thing Sony wants to see, at least Spider-Man 2 continues to do brisk business overseas.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 earned $69.5 million in foreign markets over the weekend, pushing its foreign total to a respectable $403 million. According to Box Office Mojo , the film’s worldwide total stands at $550 million . Whether the sequel will make as much money as the original flick is still up in the cinematic air.
The Other Woman ($9.6 million) and Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($5.6 million) rounded out the top five at the box office. Sadly, two of this weekend’s new releases stumbled a bit out of the proverbial gate.
TriStar Picture’s Moms’ Night Out , which features Sean Astin and Patricia Heaton, only scraped together $4.1 million during its first three days in theaters. However, the film’s low budget ($5 million) means the flick is well on its way to breaking even ahead of its release on home video.
On the other hand, producers are no doubt concerned about the amount of cash Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return earned over the weekend. The $70 million family flick scooped up only $3.7 million in receipts, which means the folks at Clarius may have a serious flop on their hands. Just because you made an animated movie doesn’t necessarily mean people will flock to theaters.
Are you surprised that Neighbors defeated The Amazing Spider-Man 2 at the box office this weekend?