Ant-Man fights off Pixels at box office

Ant-Man crept past new opener Pixels to claim the top spot at the box office this weekend by an ant-sized margin. The Disney and Marvel superhero pic brought in $24.8 million (U.S.) over the weekend.

Pixels, meanwhile, just barely missed first place with a $24-million debut. While studios always hope for the bragging rights of a No. 1 debut, the real issue here is whether the Adam Sandler end-of-the-world comedy will make up its $88-million production budget.

Critics were not fond of Pixels, which shows 1980s video arcade game characters attacking Earth, but younger audiences still turned out to theatres — an estimated 62 per cent were under the age of 25.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Rentrak. 1. Ant-Man, $24.8 million. 2. Pixels, $24 million. 3. Minions, $22.1 million. 4. Trainwreck, $17.3 million. 5. Southpaw, $16.5 million.