UPDATED JULY 27: Marvel Studios’ latest slice of superhero action held on to its top bunk over the weekend to beat Sony’s new arrival Pixels in a photo finish.

ant-man

Ant-Man added a confirmed $24.9m to reach $106.2m after two sessions, narrowly finishing ahead of Sony’s latest Adam Sandler vehicle Pixels.

The action comedy debuted on a lowly $24m from 3,723 venues and also stars Kevin James, Peter Dinklage and Michelle Monaghan. Chris Columbus directed.

Universal and Illumination’s animation hit Minions slid one place to number three in its third sessions and stands at $262.5m while stablemate Trainwreck at number four has amassed $61.5m after two.

Southpaw arrived in fifth place on $16.7m from 2,772 via The Weinstein Company, which is preparing an awards campaign for Jake Gyllenhaal as a troubled boxer fighting to keep his daughter after the death of his wife.

Fox’s YA adaptation Paper Towns from The Fault In Our Stars author John Green opened at number six on $12.7m from 3,031. The launch was roughly 75% below that of Fault, which arrived at number one in June 2014 on $48m from 3,173.

The 2014 film had an altogether heftier cast and starred household name Shailene Woodley, while Paper Towns has the relatively unproven Nat Wolff – who appeared in The Fault In Our Stars – and Cara Delevigne.

In its second weekend Mr. Holmes climbed two places to number nine after expanding by 325 into 686 sites and added $2.9m for $6.5m via Roadside Attractions.

IFC opened Christian Petzold’s German post-WWII film Phoenix on $30,296 in two theatres.

Box office for the top 12 fell 24.6% against the previous weekend and dropped by a tiny fraction against the comparable session in 2014.

This week’s wide releases are: Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation starring Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson and Jeremy Renner via Paramount; and Warner Bros’ comedy Vacation with Christina Applegate, Ed Helms, Leslie Mann and Chris Hemsworth.

Confirmed top 10 North America July 24-26, 2015
Film (Dist) / Conf wkd gross / Conf total to date

1 (1) Ant-Man (Disney-Marvel Studios) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International $24.9m $106.2m

2 (-) Pixels (Sony Pictures) Sony Pictures Releasing International $24m –

3 (2) Minions (Universal-Illumination) Universal Pictures International $22.9m $262.5m

4 (3) Trainwreck (Universal) Universal Pictures International $17.3m $61.5m

5 (-) Southpaw (The Weinstein Company) The Weinstein Company $16.7m –

6 (-) Paper Towns (Fox) Fox International $12.7m –

7 (4) Inside Out (Buena Vista-Pixar) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International $7.4m $320.4m

8 (5) Jurassic World (Universal) Universal Pictures International $7.2m $624.1m

9 (11) Mr. Holmes (Roadside Attractions) FilmNation $2.9m $6.5m

10 (6) Terminator: Genisys (Paramount/Skydance) Paramount Pictures International $2.4m $85.7m

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