Raunchy adult comedy Neighbors, starring Seth Rogen as a family man who moves next to a frat house, kicked superhero movie The Amazing Spider-Man 2 off the top spot on US and Canadian box office charts over the weekend.
Neighbors earned $51.1 million in ticket sales to lead all movies from Friday through Sunday, according to estimates from tracking firm Rentrak.
Spider-Man 2, last weekend’s box office winner, took in $37.2 million to finish second, ahead of comedy The Other Woman with $9.3 million.
Rogen stars in Neighbors as a married former party guy transitioning into suburban parenthood with his wife, played by Rose Byrne. Rogen’s character wages war with the neighboring frat house and its obnoxious president, played by High School Musical star Zac Efron.
Its success follows other adult comedy hits such as Bridesmaids, Ted and last summer’s This is the End, also starring Rogen.
The film got a boost by playing especially well with female and older audiences, she said. The opening was among the best-ever for an R-rated comedy, according to Rentrak.
The take for Spider-Man 2, one of a string of big-budget superhero movies Hollywood is releasing in the coming weeks, dropped nearly 60 percent from its opening weekend, bringing its domestic haul to $148 million. The film stars Andrew Garfield as the web-slinging superhero and Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, the girlfriend of Spider-Man’s alter-ego Peter Parker, in a follow-up to a 2012 blockbuster.
The faith-based drama Heaven Is for Real, also released by Sony, took fourth place with $7 million for a total just over $75 million in its fourth week in release.
Disney’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier rounded out the top five, taking in $5.9 million.
Another Sony release, new comedy Mom’s Night Out, earned $4.2 million at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters, only managing the No. 7 spot. The film follows female friends who head out for a grown-up evening while their husbands watch the kids.
It was followed by new release Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return, an animated sequel to The Wizard of Oz story, which grossed $3.7 million at domestic theatres.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 13th, 2014.
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