At box office, ladies outdo the heroes

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At box office, ladies outdo the heroes

LOS ANGELES - A femme-fueled comedy beat a superhero blockbuster at the box office this weekend.

After holding the top position for three weeks, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier’’ has been topped by “The Other Woman’’ for the No. 1 spot.

Fox’s revenge comedy, starring Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton, debuted with $24.7 million, while Disney-Marvel’s “Captain America,’’ led by Chris Evans, grossed $16 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $225 million.

The PG-13 rating of Nick Cassavetes directed “The Other Woman’’ - about three ladies wronged by a three-timing spouse played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of “Game of Thrones’’ - helped it draw a larger audience, says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst of box-office tracker Rentrak.

“The rating was perfect,’’ he said. “If you are going for the mainstream audience who is looking for something that has a little bit of an edge, but not too much, you can hit that sweet spot and draw a large audience.’’

The release date couldn’t have been better, Dergarabedian noted.

“This was the perfect time to release this film, between the success of ‘Captain America’ and before the official start of the summer movie season with ‘Spider-Man 2.’”

Hollywood hasn’t yet seen a comedy do especially well at the box office in 2014 since “Ride Along,’’ which was released in January.

“Sometimes it’s about casting,’’ Dergarabedian said. “When you have Cameron Diaz in a comedy like this, it’s hard not to knock it out of the park. This film is right in her wheelhouse. This is what she does best.’’

While Diaz’s last film, thriller “The Counselor,’’ grossed only $17 million domestically last year, her foul-mouthed 2011 comedy “Bad Teacher’’ earned over $100 million stateside.

“Captain America’’ has now hit over $645 million globally, surpassing its 2011 original “The First Avenger,’’ which earned $370 million. The sequel is the highest-grossing April release ever.

Sony’s faith-based “Heaven Is for Real,’’ starring Greg Kinnear, held the third-place position with $13.8 million. Relativity Media’s action crime drama “Brick Mansions,’’ starring the late Paul Walker, was No. 5 with $9.6 million.

Johnny Depp’s sci-fi disappointment “Transcendence’’ dropped from No. 4 to No. 6 in its second weekend, earning $4.1 million. The Warner Bros. film is Depp’s third consecutive flop after 2013’s Western “The Lone Ranger,’’ in which he played Tonto, and the 2012 quirky vampire flick “Dark Shadows.’’

Next weekend, Sony-Marvel’s “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” kicks off the summer movie season with its domestic debut.

“Spider-Man 2’’ has already premiered internationally in locations like South Korea and Russia. In its second weekend of international release, it made $132 million.

AP


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