‘Other Woman’ curbs ‘Captain America’ with $24.7 million

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― A femme-fueled comedy beat a superhero blockbuster at the box office last weekend.

After holding the top position for three weeks, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” has been topped by “The Other Woman” for the No. 1 spot.

Fox’s revenge comedy, starring Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton, debuted with $24.7 million, while Disney-Marvel’s “Captain America,” led by Chris Evans, grossed $16 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $225 million.

The PG-13 rating of the Nick Cassavetes-directed “The Other Woman” ― about three women wronged by a three-timing spouse played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of “Game of Thrones” ― helped it draw a larger audience, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst of box-office tracker Rentrak. 

“The rating was perfect,” he said. “If you are going for the mainstream audience who is looking for something that has a little bit of an edge, but not too much, you can hit that sweet spot and draw a large audience.”

The release date couldn’t have been better, Dergarabedian also noted. “This was the perfect time to release this film, between the success of ‘Captain America’ and before the official start of the summer movie season with ‘Spider-Man 2.’”

Hollywood hasn’t yet seen a comedy do especially well at the box office in 2014 since “Ride Along,” which was released in January. Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel” exceeded expectations, however, making over $131 million worldwide.

But Jason Bateman’s “Bad Words” made only $7.7 million domestically overall. Tyler Perry’s “The Single Moms Club” brought in just $16 million domestically. Most of his films have grossed over $40 million domestically. Marlon Wayans’ sequel “A Haunted House 2” opened with $8.8 million, drastically down from the original’s $18 million debut.

“Sometimes it’s about casting,” Dergarabedian said. “When you have Cameron Diaz in a comedy like this, it’s hard not to knock it out of the park. This film is right in her wheelhouse. This is what she does best.”

While Diaz’s last film, a thriller called “The Counselor,” grossed only $17 million domestically last year, her foul-mouthed 2011 comedy “Bad Teacher” earned over $100 million stateside.

“The Other Woman” scored $12.8 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $45.3 million.

“Captain America” has now hit over $645 million globally, surpassing its 2011 original “The First Avenger,” which earned $370 million. The sequel is the highest-grossing April release ever.

Sony’s faith-based “Heaven Is for Real,” starring Greg Kinnear, held the third-place position with $13.8 million after opening in the same slot a week earlier behind leaders “Captain America” and Fox’s animated “Rio 2,” which drifted down to fourth place with $13.7 million.

Relativity Media’s action crime drama “Brick Mansions,” starring the late Paul Walker, was No. 5 with $9.6 million.