By Ben Fritz
Two new movies had solid openings this weekend, though neither
was a super-hero at the box office.
"Ant-Man," from Walt Disney Co.'s Marvel Studios, debuted to an
estimated $58 million in the U.S. and Canada. That's a good start
for a movie based on a little-known character that cost $130
million to make, but not impressive given the standards Marvel
itself has set.
Starring Paul Rudd as the titular shrinking hero alongside
Michael Douglas and Michael Peña, "Ant-Man" posted the
second-lowest domestic opening of any of Marvel's 12 self-produced
super-hero pictures, ahead of only "The Incredible Hulk," which
started its run with $55.4 million in 2008.
The weekend's other new film was "Trainwreck," an inexpensive
romantic comedy starring Amy Schumer and directed by Judd Apatow,
which debuted to a healthy $30.2 million.
That is an impressive start for a comedian who has never starred
in her own movie and on par with Mr. Apatow's most successful
release as a director, "Knocked Up." But it's far below the biggest
openings for R-rated comedies, such as last year's "Neighbors,"
which debuted to $49 million. That means it will need a strong run
fueled by word-of-mouth to become a major success for Comcast
Corp.'s Universal Pictures.
Emmy-nominee Ms. Schumer, who has ridden a wave of popularity
recently fueled by her Comedy Central show "Inside Amy Schumer,"
drew an audience that was two-thirds female. Opening night crowds
gave it an average grade of A-, according to market research firm
CinemaScore, giving Universal executives hope that positive buzz
could keep drawing crowds for weeks to come. The ideal model is
"Knocked Up," which opened to $30.7 million but ended up with
$148.8 million.
Disney is also looking for positive word of mouth, evidenced by
an A CinemaScore, to power "Ant Man" with a different audience. In
addition to the core fanboy crowd, it drew more families than most
of the company's super-hero films have, said Disney executive vice
president of distribution Dave Hollis, perhaps attracted by its
more humorous tone and an action scene with the miniature hero that
takes place on a Thomas the Tank Engine play set.
"Expanding the audience of who comes to see these movies can
have an impact not just on 'Ant-Man,' but all the Marvel films
going forward," said Mr. Hollis.
Still, it remains to be seen whether Ant-Man, whom Marvel plans
to feature in more of its coming super-hero movies, gets a sequel
of his own. "The Incredible Hulk," which ultimately grossed $134.8
million domestically and $128.6 million internationally, is the
company's only movie to date for which a follow up hasn't been
produced or announced.
"Ant-Man" opened to a solid $56.4 million overseas in countries
that represent about half the total global market. Its strongest
starts were in the United Kingdom, Mexico and Russia, with Germany,
South Korea and China among the major markets left to go.
"Trainwreck" has yet to open internationally, although American
comedies rarely are hits abroad.
In second place at the box office this weekend was Universal's
animated "Minions." Coming off a huge $115.7 million opening, it
dropped 57% to $50.2 million, on the high end of second-weekend
declines for family animated films.
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