Weekend Box Office: 'Neighbors' Opens Big Over 'Amazing Spider-Man 2'
The reign of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has come to an end...after just one week. The successful superhero blockbuster is projected to be unseated by Neighbors, the new R-rated comedy starring Seth Rogen and Zac Efron as warring next door neighbors. The comedy scored an impressive $19.6 million on Friday, versus the $10.1 million earned by The Amazing Spider-Man 2. This puts Neighbors well on its way to claiming the No. 1 spot when ticket receipts for Saturday and Sunday are factored in.
Right now, Neighbors is projected to earn in the ballpark of $48 million or $49 million once the weekend is over, while The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is expected to finish in the $36 million or $37 million range. The superhero epic saw a drop of over 60 percent in its second weekend; however, its domestic gross is expected to reach a total of $147 million by Sunday, while its worldwide total is projected to reach as high as $450 million. By any measure, it's still a huge success for Sony, which is already moving forward with two more sequels to the project, in addition to spinoff films centering on Venom and The Sinister Six.
However, not everything at the box office had to do with the battle between Spider-Man and the twosome of Rogen and Efron.
Credit: Universal Pictures
The weekend's two other two new films, in addition to Neighbors, are family entertainments. Yet they aren't exactly successes at the level of some more recent fare. Faith-based comedy Mom's Night Out is expected to make around $4 million or $5 million for the weekend, which has to be disappointing for TriStar, as the film has failed to rope in the audiences that made God's Not Dead and Heaven Is for Real such successes. Also underperforming at the box office this weekend is animated film Legends of Oz, which earned just $981,000 on Friday. The movie's only hope is for a Mothers Day surge, but it's looking unlikely, as the animated film is projected to debut with a disappointing $4 million domestically.
Check back tomorrow for full box office results, as Neighbors and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 continue to duke it out for the top spot.