Box Office: 'Ant-Man' Tops Charts, 'Pixels' Opens to Lackluster $24 Million

By Brent Lang
LOS ANGELES, July 26 (Variety.com) - Adam Sandler's star
appears to have dimmed significantly, after "Pixels," a slice of
arcade game nostalgia that recruited the likes of Pac-Man and
Donkey Kong to appear alongside the funnyman, opened to a
disappointing $24 million at the domestic box office.
The critically derided comedy finished up just behind Disney
and Marvel's "Ant-Man," which picked up first place and $24.8
million in its second weekend. That marks the weakest
chart-topping performance since April 24 when "Furious 7," then
in its fourth week of release, bested all challengers with $17.8
million. So far, "Ant-Man" has earned $106.1 million stateside.
The weekend box office race unfolded in the shadow of a
shocking act of violence after a gunman opened fire during a
Thursday night screening of "Trainwreck" in Louisiana, killing
two women and injuring nine people before turning the weapon on
himself. Safety concerns across the country may have caused some
consumers to steer clear of cinemas.
Among the weekend's other new releases, Fox's "Paper Towns"
picked up $12.5 million from 3,031 locations, while The
Weinstein Company's "Southpaw" snagged $16.5 million from 2,772
theaters. "Paper Towns" missed analysts' projections. Most
estimates had the latest tween romance from "Fault in Our Stars"
author John Green debuting to north of $20 million. With a
production budget of $12 million, it still stands to be
profitable, but the results seemed to puzzle the studio, which
thought it had a hit on its hands.
"I'm really somewhat mystified," said Chris Aronson,
domestic distribution chief at Fox. "It's something we're going
to have to look at and review on a post-mortem basis and find
out why we didn't get more people in."
"Southpaw," an uplifting boxing drama with Jake Gyllenhaal,
did better than expected, potentially setting the $25 million
drama up for a healthy run with those moviegoers who have grown
weary of dinosaurs and costumed heroes. The picture attracted a
diverse crowd that was 24% Latino, 21% African-American, and 60%
under the age of 35. The film's star was front and center, doing
interviews on everything from Fresh Air to Sports Center, while
recounting the physical transformation he underwent to
believably play a fighter.
"Jake was everywhere and people responded to him," said Erik
Lomis, the Weinstein Company's distribution chief.
He predicted a long run, noting, "It appeals to the people
on a mass level and it's a very satisfying film."
In the case of "Pixels," the Sony release cost $88 million
to produce, a figure that is moderate by summer blockbuster
standards, and the studio touted its overseas performance. The
picture has made more than $25 million to date, Sony said. In
the U.S., the opening weekend crowd was 62% under the age of 25
and 55% male.
It ranks as another disappointment for Sandler. Four years
ago, he was perhaps the most consistent comedian in terms of box
office performance, fielding hits like "I Now Pronounce You
Chuck and Larry," "Grown Ups," and "Just Go With It." More
recently, he has struggled mightily - headlining flops and duds
like "Blended" and "That's My Boy." Only a sequel to "Grown Ups"
and "Hotel Transylvania," an animated film that only featured
his voice, have worked. He will now look to salvation in the
form of a multi-picture deal with Netflix.
Holdovers, "Minions" and "Trainwreck," picked up $22.1
million and $17.3 million, pushing their totals to $261.6
million and $61.5 million, respectively. In milestone news,
"Jurassic World" has now blown past "Marvel's The Avengers" on
the domestic all-time list, becoming the third biggest film in
history, when not adjusted for inflation, with $623.8 million.
It earned $6.9 million.