This weekend sees the long-awaited debut of the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ant-Man. But rather than super villains to fight, the Peyton Reed-directed film is going to have to fend of the challenges of Amy Schumer and the Minions in order to take the US box-office crown this weekend.
Debuting across an estimated 3,800 cinemas in the States, including hundreds of IMAX cinemas, the film is on course to gross around the low $60 million ballpark, which could help elevate the worldwide opening for the film to around $125 million. If estimates ring true come Monday, Ant-Man would debut on par with the openings of Captain America: The First Avenger ($65 million) and Thor ($65.7 million) in terms of Marvel films, but would be well behind rivals DC and the July record, which is held by The Dark Knight Rises ($160.9 million).
SEE ALSO: Read our review of Ant-Man here
That said, the latest Marvel hero may yet have to settle for second place in the charts as those crazy Minions may hold on to top spot in a very close run race. Set to drop around 50% in its second weekend, Minions is on course to gross anywhere between $57 million to $60 million, but with the power of the crazy yellow men, it could exceed those numbers and swipe top spot away from under Ant-Man’s feet.
In addition, Universal Pictures open its R-rated comedy Trainwreck this weekend, which is set to do decent business too. Written by and starring Amy Schumer and directed by Judd Apatow (Knocked Up), Trainwreck opens in 3,153 cinemas on Friday and estimates put the its opening at around $20m which while not huge by Marvel or Miinion standards, it would certainly be an impressive haul for an R-rated comedy aimed primarily at women, and is set to thrive as the alternative to more superhero spectacle.
SEE ALSO: Read our review of Trainwreck here
Ant-Man is set for release on July 17th, with Peyton Reed (Down with Love) directing a cast that includes Paul Rudd (I Love You, Man) as Scott Lang, Michael Douglas (Behind The Candelabra) as Dr. Hank Pym, Evangeline Lilly (The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) as Hope Van Dyne, Corey Stoll (House of Cards) as Darren Cross / Yellowjacket, John Slattery (Iron Man 2) as Howard Stark, Hayley Atwell (Captain America: The First Avenger) as Peggy Carter, Judy Greer (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) as Maggie, Bobby Cannavale (The Long Play) as Paxton, Michael Peña (American Hustle) as Luis, Abby Ryder Fortson (Togetherness) as Cassie Lang, David Dastmalchian (The Dark Knight) as Kurt, Wood Harris (The Wire) as Gale, T.I. (American Gangster) as Dave, Jordi Molla (Riddick) as Castillo, and Gregg Turkington (The Comedy) and Martin Donovan (Inherent Vice) in as yet-unrevealed roles.
