We all know that we’re supposed to love our neighbors as ourselves. And Spider-Man would seem like a guy who’d do his best to live up to that adage. But he might have a hard time embracing these next-door Neighbors.
Seth Rogen and Zac Efron moved right past The Amazing Spider-Man 2 this weekend, snagging the best house on the block and carrying Neighbors to an estimated $51.1 million haul. It was one of the biggest debuts for a non-sequel R-rated comedy ever, scooting past all but Ted and Sex and the City movie.
Spidey, meanwhile, snapped a web or two on his way down, losing nearly 60% of its audience to settle in around $37.2 million. It’s hard to say that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 has been a disappointment: It’s already earned $147 million, after all, and Box Office Mojo predicts it’ll eventually earn more than $200 mil. But still, that’d put it as the lowest-grossing entry in the five-film franchise—one that started way back in 2002. You’d think inflation and 3-D hikes would count for something.
A bevy of holdovers filled the remainder of the Top Five. The Other Woman continues to flirt with big-time money, cheating audiences out of another $9.3 million this weekend. Heaven is for Real is storing up more treasures on earth, collecting another $7 million (bringing its total haul to $75.2 million). And Captain America: The Winter Soldier banked another $5.6 million to close out the bracket.
Those strong returnees, along with sixth-place Rio 2, spoiled the debut of Moms’ Night Out. This Christian comedy (the rarest of all genres) earned $4.2 million to finish seventh. But, as our own moms would tell us, it’s not whether you win or lose but how you play the game: This gentle romp can take solace in the fact that it was released in just 1,044 theaters (Spider-Man 2 played at more than 4,300). So if we were grading on a curve, Moms’ did just fine—trailing only Neighbors and Spider-Man in per-theater average.
Alas, Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return could not even bank on those extra credit points. Despite playing at 2,500 theaters, Oz earned a less-than-emerald $3.7 million to finish eighth.
Will the Neighbors party rage on for another weekend? We’ll see. Rumor has it that a 350-foot-tall lizard may crash the thing.
Final figures update: 1. Neighbors, $49 million; 2. The Amazing Spider-Man 2, $35.5 million; 3. The Other Woman, $9.6 million; 4. Heaven is for Real, $7.5 million; 5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier, $5.8 million. Moms’ Night Out remained in seventh place but finished slightly ahead of estimates with $4.3 million. Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return still finished eighth with $3.7 million.
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