'Soldier' shot down by 'Woman'

LOS ANGELES - A femme-fueled comedy beat a superhero blockbuster at the box office this weekend.

After holding the top position for three weeks, "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" has been topped by "The Other Woman" for the No. 1 spot.

Fox's revenge comedy, starring Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton, debuted with $24.7 million, while Disney-Marvel's "Captain America," led by Chris Evans, grossed $16 million in its fourth weekend, bringing its domestic total to $225 million.

The PG-13 rating of the Nick Cassavetes directed "The Other Woman" - about three ladies wronged by a three-timing spouse played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, of "Game of Thrones" - helped it draw a larger audience, says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst of box-office tracker Rentrak.

"The rating was perfect," he said. "If you are going for the mainstream audience who is looking for something that has a little bit of an edge, but not too much, you can hit that sweet spot and draw a large audience."

Hollywood hasn't yet seen a comedy do especially well at the box office in 2014 since "Ride Along," which was released in January. Domestically, Jason Bateman's "Bad Words" made only $7.7 million overall. Tyler Perry's "The Single Moms Club" brought in $16 million domestically. Most of his films have grossed over $40 million domestically. And Marlon Wayans' sequel "A Haunted House 2" opened with $8.8 million, drastically down from the original's $18 million debut.

"Sometimes it's about casting," Dergarabedian said. "When you have Cameron Diaz in a comedy like this, it's hard not to knock it out of the park. This film is right in her wheelhouse. This is what she does best."

While Diaz's last film, the thriller "The Counselor," grossed only $17 million domestically last year, her foul-mouthed 2011 comedy "Bad Teacher" earned over $100 million stateside.

"Captain America" has now hit over $645 million globally. The sequel is the highest-grossing April release ever.

Sony's faith-based "Heaven Is for Real," starring Greg Kinnear, held the third-place position with $13.8 million after opening in the same slot last weekend.

Relativity Media's action crime drama "Brick Mansions," starring the late Paul Walker, was No. 5 with $9.6 million.

Johnny Depp's sci-fi disappointment "Transcendence" dropped from No. 4 to No. 6 in its second weekend, earning $4.1 million. The Warner Bros. film is Depp's third consecutive flop after 2013's Western "The Lone Ranger," in which he played Tonto, and 2012's quirky vampire flick "Dark Shadows."

Could the A-lister be losing his appeal at the box office? Depp's last film to exceed $100 million domestically was "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" in 2011.