Ant-Man walks tall at US box office

Marvel’s miniature superhero Ant-Man has made a big impact at North American cinemas, with his film earning $58m (£37m) in its first weekend on release.

Ant-Man, which stars Paul Rudd as a thief who is recruited to become a shrinking action hero, bumped Minions off the top of the box office chart.

Ant-Man’s first weekend takings were lower than for other major Marvel films like Captain America and Iron Man.

But its $130m (£83m) budget was also smaller than most Marvel blockbusters.

Minions made $50.2m (£32m) between Friday and Sunday, putting it in second place, according to studio estimates.

Romantic comedy Trainwreck, written by and starring Amy Schumer, exceeded expectations to earn $30.2m (£19m) and third place.

Pixar’s Inside Out was fourth with $11.6m (£7.4m), closely followed by Jurassic World, with $11.4m.

That made the dinosaur thriller only the fourth film in history to have made more than $600m (£385m) at North American box offices, behind Avatar, Titanic and Avengers Assemble.