'Angry Birds' flocks to No. 1 over 'Neighbors,' 'Nice Guys'

The Angry Birds Movie soared to $39 million in its debut weekend, knocking Captain America:

Civil War off its first-place perch, while new adult comedies Neighbors 2 and the The Nice Guys struggled to get their footing, according to comScore estimates Sunday.

Rovio Animation spearheaded the production of "The Angry Birds Movie," which cost around $73 million to make, and it opened strong internationally last weekend.

The film has already earned $150 million worldwide, according to estimates from Sony, which is distributing the film.

"The Angry Birds Movie" features the voices of Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad and Danny McBride and has received mixed reviews from critics in its attempt to create a compelling story out of a fairly simplistic app-based game.

Video-game adaptations have not had the best track record, but comScore's Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian notes that the success of "Angry Birds" likely has more to do with its family appeal and ingrained brand recognition.

Families are always looking for out-of-the-home content," Dergarabedian said, noting also that this is the latest in a string of very successful PG-rated films including "The Jungle Book" and "Zootopia.

Civil War wasn't too far behind, earning an additional $33.1 million this weekend for a second-place spot, which brings its domestic total to $347.4 million.

[...] even in its third weekend in theaters, the superhero proved mightier than a fresh batch of R-rated comedies, Neighbors 2:

Stars Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne and Zac Efron all returned for the sequel, which puts a new spin on the frat next door idea by having the young family's new neighbors be a sorority comprised of girls upset about the unequal rules for fraternities and sororities.

Warner Bros. handled the domestic distribution for the Shane Black-directed film, which stars Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe.

While the comedy openings might be less than hoped for, both could still provide decent counterprogramming to the spectacle-driven films opening on Memorial Day weekend, when mega productions X-Men:

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.