Captain America Dominates Box Office for Third Week in a Row

The superheroes of Captain America: The Winter Soldier are victorious once again, topping the box office for the third consecutive week and earning $26 million domestically, according to Sunday studio estimates.

The movie, which stars Chris Evans as the titular comic-book character and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow, became the biggest April release ever when it earned more than $96 million domestically its opening weekend, the Associated Press reports.

Sci-fi thriller Transcendence, starring Johnny Depp, opened in fourth place this weekend with $11 million. The movie, which was directed by Christopher Nolan’s longtime cinematographer, Wally Pfister, marked Depp’s third underwhelming box-office performance after The Lone Ranger and Dark Shadows.

“As we approach the summer movie season, box-office drawing power becomes more about the concept of the movie rather than its star,” Rentrak senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian told the AP. “It may not have been so much [about] Johnny Depp, but audiences right now like brands that they know.”

Rio 2 claimed the No. 2 box-office spot, while the religious-themed Heaven Is for Real took third place this Easter weekend.

[AP]