For many years he was a guarantee of success, a sure draw for audiences of all ages, his name up there with the likes of Tom Cruise or Tom Hanks. Adam Sandler was the beloved star of Big Daddy and Waterboy and the Wedding Singer and many more. Then something happened: at least in the domestic market his films started to flop. So it came as no surprise at all that Pixels, his latest effort, failed to ignite the box office. The subject was video games, old ones from the 80s, used by aliens to attack Earth. It had action and also comedy. It cost over $100 million to produce. It was directed by Chris Columbus and in the cast, besides Sandler, there were also Kevin James, Josh Gad, Michelle Monaghan and Peter Dinklage. It had all the right ingredients, but it opened at just $23 million. Internationally, things went slightly better for Pixels, with $25.4 million. It was number one in 23 of 56 territories where it was released. Mexico was number one once again, with $4 million, followed by Brazil, which yielded half a million less than that, and Russia in third place.
 
 
With Adam Sandler’s new vehicle ending up below expectations, Ant-Man managed to squeeze the top spot for the second week in a row. It grossed $24 million, for a 10-day total of $106 million. Globally, it stands now at $226 million. In the meantime, Minions keeps adding impressive numbers: $22 million domestically, good for a number three spot and a domestic total of $260 million. Internationally it was number two, for a foreign total of half a billion dollars and a cumulative of $760 million generated in 60 markets. And the Despicable Me spinoff has lots of room for growth, with key markets such as Korea, Japan and China still to open. Talking about China, the Middle Kingdom is going through an unofficial blackout window, which has boosted local productions. Monster Hunt added $46 million, becoming this week’s top picture in the international box office. With a total so far of $211 million, Monster Hunt is also the top grossing Chinese film of all time, even if it’s still very far from the record $400 million generated by Furious 7. Although it’s not that far from overtaking Jurassic World, which generated “only” $229 million in China but surpassed The Avengers this week to become the third highest grossing movie of all time, behind James Cameron’s Avatar and Titanic.
 
Back to the domestic market, at number four we find Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck, with $17.3 million and a total so far of $61 million. There was another disappointment, Paper Towns. Like last year’s The Fault in Our Stars, that had a stellar debut with $48 million, Paper Towns is an adaptation of a John Green bestseller. But with a $12 million debut Paper Towns, starring Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne, got just a quarter of Stars’ stellar take.
 
Overall it was a slow week, affected perhaps by safety concerns following the tragic and fatal shooting last Thursday at a screening of Trainwreck at the Grand Theatre in Lafayette. But next week the box office could be reignited by the wide release of Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, starring Rebecca Ferguson, Jeremy Renner and, of course, Tom Cruise. Last year’s Edge of Tomorrow disappointed, but being back as Ethan Hunt in the U.S. and 40 other territories will most likely help turn things around. 
Lorenzo Soria