'Other Woman' overpowers 'Captain America' at theaters

With a canny ad campaign calling for women to unite behind it, The Other Woman swept to a convincing win at theaters this weekend, unseating Captain America after a three-week stint at No. 1.

Woman collected $24.7 million, according to studio estimates from Rentrak.

The debut landed well beyond analysts' forecasts, which hovered around $17 million.

Distributor 20th Century Fox advertised heavily for the film, which called for a "Girls Night Out!" on Friday.

"Women across the country happily took them up on the offer," says David Mumpower, analyst for Box Office Prophets.

"The Other Woman follows the playbook of Sex and the City and Bridesmaids by providing a deep roster of likable characters" that include Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton.

"The communal nature of such films, combined with the popularity of the actresses involved, imbues (Woman) with one of the most potent box office one-two punches in recent memory," Mumpower says.

Critics were less impressed with the revenge comedy, which earned only a 25% approval rating from reviewers, says Rotten Tomatoes. But the movie earned a B-plus from CinemaScore, suggesting a strong run until The Amazing Spider-Man 2 kicks off the summer season on Friday.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier took $16 million and has captured $224.9 million since its release April 4.

The Greg Kinnear film Heaven Is for Real took the third spot with $13.8 million. followed by the animated comedy Rio 2 with $13.7 million.

Brick Mansions, Paul Walker's last completed film before his death last year, took fifth with $9.6 million. Forecasters predicted about $8 million for the drama.

Final figures are expected Monday.