Captain America continues to vanquish box office foes, triumphing in ticket sales for the third consecutive week and dominating over megastar Johnny Depp’s new movie.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier added another $26 million (Dh95 million) to its coffers, according to studio estimates on Sunday, while Depp’s sci-fi thriller, Transcendence, opened in fourth place with $11 million.
Directed by longtime Christopher Nolan cinematographer Wally Pfister, the Warner Bros film is Depp’s third consecutive box office disappointment. He played Tonto in last summer’s The Lone Ranger — one of the biggest flops of 2013 — and starred in 2012’s comedy-horror dud, Dark Shadows.
“As we approach the summer movie season, box-office drawing power becomes more about the concept of the movie rather than its star,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker Rentrak. “It may not have been so much [about] Johnny Depp, but audiences right now like brands that they know.”
That doesn’t bode well for original ideas, such as Transcendence, penned by first-time screenwriter Jack Paglen.
Twelve sequels are expected this summer alone, Dergarabedian said.
Another new movie, the religious-themed Heaven Is for Real, debuted in third place over Easter weekend, while another sequel, Rio 2, held on to the second spot.
Faith-based films are performing well, with four releases in the US top 20.
The Winter Soldier set a box-office record as the biggest April release ever when it opened with more than $96 million in the US. Starring Chris Evans as comic book hero Capt America and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, the Disney release has earned more than $200 million to date in North America — the 12th Marvel film to do so.
