The Boss' Demotes Superheroes at the Box Office

Associated Press 

LOS ANGELES -- Step aside, Batman and Superman. Melissa McCarthy is "The Boss" at the box office.

The actress's latest comedy narrowly topped "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" at the weekend box office with a $23.5 million debut, according to comScore estimates Sunday. "The Boss" stars Ms. McCarthy as an over-the-top business mogul attempting to rebound after being convicted of insider trading. The weekend's only other newcomer, STX Entertainment's first-person action romp "Hardcore Henry," opened in fifth place with a dismal $5.1 million.

Ms. McCarthy's win wasn't a total knockout. The superhero smackdown starring Ben Affleck as the Dark Knight and Henry Cavill as the Man of Steel nabbed $23.4 million in its third weekend. Despite poor reviews and word of mouth, "Batman v Superman," from Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. studio has earned an estimated $296.7 million to date.

When the final box-office figures are released Monday, the DC Comics mash-up could end up overcoming Ms. McCarthy's R-rated comedy from Universal Pictures. The studio is a unit of NBC Universal, part of Comcast Corp.

"It's incredibly close," said Paul Dergarabedian, comScore's senior media analyst. "It's one of the closest results between first- and second-place films I've ever seen. Anything can happen. We'll know for sure tomorrow."

Walt Disney Co.'s "Zootopia" landed in third place, with a weekend take of $14.4 million. In its sixth weekend, the animated film featuring the voices of Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin has earned a total domestic haul of $296 million.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 10, 2016 16:36 ET (20:36 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.