'Ant-Man' punches above his weight in debut weekend

Marvel action flick "Ant-Man" proved less can be more as it topped the North American box office tally in its debut over the weekend, industry figures showed Sunday.

The movie -- about a thief-turned-hero who wears special armor that makes him tiny but super strong as he undertakes a mission to save the world -- posted sales of $58 million, said box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

It unseated the animated comedy "Minions," a prequel to the "Despicable Me" movies featuring three tiny mischievous creatures. This one came in second with $50.2 million, after racking up $115.7 million last weekend in its debut.

"Minions" tells the story of lozenge-shaped, yellow characters whose goal is to serve the most despicable master they can.

Another movie making its debut -- "Trainwreck" with comic Amy Schumer -- came in third with $30.2 million in sales. It is about a woman who is wary of steady romantic relationships but falls for a sports doctor.

In fourth place was the animated flick "Inside Out," at $11.7 million.

It features the voice of comedian Amy Poehler and follows young Riley as her emotions of joy, fear, anger, disgust and sadness battle it out internally as she copes with a move to a new city.

"Jurassic World" dropped from second to fifth place, taking in another $11.4 million, bringing the dinosaur movie's overall total to a huge $611.1 million.

Taking the sixth spot was action-packed sci-fi fantasy "Terminator Genisys," which brought in $5.4 million in its third weekend.

In seventh position was "Magic Mike XXL," a dance-themed drama about a former stripper, starring Channing Tatum. It pulled in $4.5 million in theaters over the weekend.

Dropping to eighth place after debuting at number five was Hollywood producer Jason Blum's latest spine-tingler, "The Gallows," which took in $4 million.

The movie, which recalls 1999's "The Blair Witch Project" for its hand-held camera technique, gives young actors Reese Mishler, Pfeifer Brown, Ryan Shoos and Cassidy Gifford their first substantial roles.

"Ted 2," the raunchy sequel to Seth MacFarlane's comedy about a foul-mouthed teddy bear grabbed ninth place, bringing in $2.7 million.

Rounding out the top 10 was "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" at $2.5 million.

It is about a speech-impaired girl from Pakistan who gets lost in India and gets help from a kind-hearted man to find her way home to her family.
Source: AFP