Is It Game Over Already For 'Pixels'?

Audiences chose Ant-Man over Pac-Man this weekend, as Adam Sandler's Pixels narrowly missed out on the number-one spot with a disappointing showing.

It's all gone Pete Kong for Pixels

Paul Rudd's Ant-Man took $24.8million in its second weekend, an expected drop of 57%, giving the Disney/Marvel superhero adventure a decent total of $106m so far.

Meanwhile, the Sony sci-fi comedy Pixels, about an alien invasion of classic arcade-game characters including Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, made a disappointing $24m according to Box Office Mojo.

With Adam Sandler, Kevin James and 'Game of Thrones' star Peter Dinklage in the cast, a well-communicated concept and a school holidays release, Pixels should have enjoyed a much better weekend, but the terrible reviews will have convinced many cinemagoers to spend their money on something else.

Having Sandler on board must have given the studio hopes for a decent take, but Pixels comes in at his16th best opening weekend, behind the disastrous Jack and Jill ($25m). Could it be game over already for this big-budget film?

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Minions fared better, earning $22m and taking third place in its third weekend. Its $261m American haul puts it on track for an eventual total well above $300m, although it may not quite reach the heights of Despicable Me 2.

Well-received comedy Trainwreck, starring Amy Schumer, was off 42% from last week's $30m take, with an estimated $17.3m weekend and good for fourth place. 

In fifth place was Jake Gyllenhaal's boxing drama Southpaw, which outperformed estimates with $16m. While many critics have praised Gyllenhaal's performance, the film itself has had mixed reviews.

More: Photos from the world premiere of Pixels