The Boss has unseated Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice from the top of the North American box office.
Melissa McCarthy’s new comedy, in which she plays an eccentric tycoon, took an estimated $23.5 million on its debut weekend.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was knocked to second place in its third week, pulling in an estimated $23.4 million.
The margin between the top two films is one of the closest in recent years, according to industry analysts.
Dawn of Justice has defied poor reviews, having taken almost $300 million in the US.
The movie, in which Ben Affleck plays Batman and Henry Cavill takes the role of Superman, now ranks as the third highest-grossing DC Comics release to date in the US, according to Box Office Mojo.
Dawn of Justice’s box office haul has now surpassed 2013’s Man of Steel, also starring Henry Cavill, which took $291 million. However, Dawn of Justice‘s takings has dropped by 54% since its first week of release.
The Boss was co-written by Melissa McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone.
Critics had not expected it to perform well, but the movie has done better than Melissa McCarthy’s 2014 comedy Tammy.
In third place came Disney’s Zootopia with $14.4 million, slipping one spot from last week.
Now in its sixth weekend of release, the animated movie featuring the voices of Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin has made a US total of $296 million.
Comedy sequel My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 was at No 4, making $6.4 million.
North American box office top 4:
- The Boss – $23.5 million
- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice – $23.4 million
- Zootopia – $14.4 million
- My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 – $6.4 million
