By Sandy Cohen, Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --Seth Rogen and Zac Efron have bested the web-slinger at the box office.
Rogen and Efron's family-versus-fraternity comedy "Neighbors," was the top draw for moviegoers this weekend, unseating last week's champ, "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."
The R-rated "Neighbors" debuted with $51 million in ticket sales, pushing Spidey to second place with $37 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Sustaining a No. 1 ranking is generally tougher in the summer than any other time of year," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker Rentrak. "You don't expect a comedy to be able to unseat an epic blockbuster, but historically it happens more than you think."
R-rated comedies have traditionally found success in the summer movie season: Think "Bridesmaids," ''The Hangover," 2012's "Ted" and last year's "The Heat."
"Neighbors" stars Rogen and Rose Byrne as new parents finding their footing in the suburbs when a fraternity led by Efron moves in next door. Filled with goofball and gross-out gags balanced with a dash of heart, the comedy boasts some epic party scenes and ample shirtless Efron.
The Universal release earned a "fresh" rating from review aggregator RottenTomatoes.com, with 74 percent of film critics responding favorably to the film. Conversely, Sony's "Amazing Spider-Man 2" earned a "rotten" rating of 54 percent.
Spidey is still a major success, with more than $550 million in worldwide ticket sales so far.
"Spider-Man has nothing to worry about," Dergarabedian said.
Another comedy, the Cameron Diaz-Leslie Mann revenge romp "The Other Woman" held onto third place in its third week of release, adding $9 million to its take. "Heaven Is for Real" and "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" round out the top five.
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday.
1. "Neighbors," $51 million ($34.4 million international).
2. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," $37.2 million ($69.5 million international).
3. "The Other Woman," $9.25 million ($13.1 million international).
4. "Heaven Is for Real," $7 million.
5. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," $5.6 million ($3.5 million international).
6. "Rio 2," $5.1 million ($14.1 million international).
7. "Moms' Night Out," $4.2 million.
8. "Legends of Oz," $3.7 million.
9. "Divergent," $1.7 million ($3 million international).
10. "Brick Mansions," 1.3 million.
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Rentrak:
1. "The Amazing Spider-Man 2," $69.5 million.
2. "Neighbors," $34.4 million.
3. "Rio 2," $14.1 million.
4. "The Other Woman," $13.1 million.
5. "Qu'est ce qu'on a fait au Bon Dieu?!" $10 million.
6. "Frozen," $7.1 million.
7. "My Old Classmate," $6 million.
8. "The Great Hypnotist," $5.2 million.
9. "The Fatal Encounter," $5 million.
10. "The Target," $4.7 million.
SCHROM x Yacht Club and Be Electric Studios Launch Electric XR for Virtual Production
SCHROM x Yacht Club, a full-service live-action, tabletop, and postproduction company, has teamed with Be Electric Studios, a soundstage, equipment rental, and virtual production company, to launch Electric XR, a virtual production collective.
Industry veteran Thomas Rossano will lead the new venture, which provides advanced virtual production solutions across multiple facilities. He brings over 25 years of experience in live-action, tabletop, postproduction and talent curation to enhance Electric XR’s offerings as a resource for brands and agencies, as well as other production companies in need of virtual production solutions. Additionally Rossano continues to serve as EP at XR New York (XR-NY), a role he’s held since December 2022. SCHROM x Yacht Club originally established XR-NY to help provide XR services for third-party rentals. While XR-NY will continue to function independently for SCHROM X Yacht Club, it now operates under the Electric XR umbrella.
Rossano’s expertise spans producing live-action commercials, branded content, interactive and experiential content. In addition to leading Electric XR, he holds responsibilities at SCHROM x Yacht Club which include driving business development, collaborating with sales reps and expanding the company’s creative talent network. Rossano’s career includes serving as an exec producer at Hungry Man for about 11 years, right from that company’s inception. He then went on to become a partner at Station Film where he also had a lengthy tenure. Later he was a partner at PRISM. Then after the pandemic hit, he became a freelance EP for nearly two years, looking into opportunities in virtual production, which led him to XR NY and now Electric XR. Over the years, he has produced high-profile... Read More