Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man narrowly beat Adam Sandler’s new action-comedy, Pixels, at the North American box office in another blow for Sandler, whose standing at the multiplex has been fading.
Pixels debuted to an estimated $24 million from 3,723 theaters, not a good start for a summer tentpole that cost Sony and its financing partners at least $88 million to produce after rebates. The movie hopes to make up ground overseas, where it launched in 40 percent of the marketplace this weekend. In its second weekend, Ant-Man grossed an estimated $25 million for a 10-day domestic total of $106 million and global haul of $227 million for Disney and Marvel Studios.
