UPDATE THURS JULY 30: “Gambit” was supposed to start shooting in October. Since I wrote this on July 21st, there are reports that Channing Tatum’s deal may be in trouble. It’s a high stakes chess game. Plus Fox is all upset that I’ve reported the names of the characters, who all sound quite pedestrian. So we’ll keep an eye on this and see if “Gambit,” another comic book movie, takes off.

JULY 21: Another Marvel movie is getting ready to start filming this fall. That would be “Gambit,” starring Channing Tatum as Remy LeBeau aka Gambit and directed by Rupert Wyatt. Yesterday I was sent a casting call for a movie called “Chess,” from 20th Century Fox. It took a little reconnoitering to figure out it was “Gambit,” shooting in New Orleans. All the roles are noted to include deals for sequels. I guess Gambit will supplant Wolverine as the new go to guy in Fox’s Marvel universe. PS Taylor Kitsch played Gambit in X Men: Origins.

This week we get another Adam Sandler movie, “Pixels.” Insiders say it’s not good (actually word from last week’s screening was worse, I’m being kind.) Sandler’s continuing decline at the box office has sent him to Netflix for a four picture deal. The first one, “The Ridiculous Six,” sounds like it’s a parody of Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight.” We’ll see how that works out.

Sandler’s expenses at Sony, home of “Pixels” and his other projects, continue to climb however. In the emails from the Wikileaks Sony hack, there are some eye opening conversations about Sandler’s rising costs.

In one, titled “Sandler Jet Fund,” one exec says he’s “stressed out” about the money Sandler is spending on flying around on Sony jets:
Fwd: Sandler jet fund

This is stressing me out.
I don’t know how to solve so you don’t have to go to ML without creating some kind of new fund on Pixels or something.
Let’s put our heads together later today and figure it out with Sandy.

That email was in response to this one:

Adam had $168,500. he took a trip LA/NY/FL/LA over Thanksgiving that cost $69K, so he had $99,500 left.

if he & Amy [Pascal] share the cost of the NY trip ($27,500 each), then he’d have $4K left.

Sony execs also hoped the Netflix deal would mean having a partner to fund Sandler’s offices on their lot:
ML/AP: further to yesterday’s meeting, of the $2M annually we are incurring for happy madison’s oh, approximately $750K is for office space and office expenses. I’ve spoken with WME, and given Sarandos’ certainty re: the 4 pics being produced AS WELL AS the fact that pic #1 may very-well be the “Riddiculous Six” western project, the rights to which we still control, I just might be able to get Netflix to pick up $1M of the $2M oh (500k has already been offered, so I’m trying to get another 500k).

Here’s a clip from the short film upon which “Pixels” is based:

PIXELS / The short film from ONE MORE on Vimeo.

The real story this weekend wasn’t that “Ant Man” fell short of $60 million– it did $58 million and probably a little less.

The story is that “Trainwreck” made $30 million and maybe a little more. Judd Apatow and Amy Schumer hit the sweet spot for comedies, and raked it in. The movie built on word of mouth and continues to. Plus, Schumer and Apatow keep doing publicity well after the movie opens. They are persistent. And it’s paid off handsomely. “Trainwreck” is turning into a big hit, a la “Bridesmaids.” I have no idea what Schumer would do as a follow up– “Trainwreck” is basically her story– but it almost doesn’t matter.

Kudos to Bill Hader, who’s getting lost in the PR mix. He’s made a nice transition from “SNL” to comedy leading man.

“Ant Man” did fine– who doesn’t want to make $58 million? So it’s a little less than big Marvel movies. Maybe it’s also a little smarter, or funnier. The second “Ant Man” will be much bigger, and everyone will Marvel at that. And now at least Paul Rudd can eat something.

Woody Allen’s “Irrational Man” averaged over $37K in five theaters. He’s off to a good start. If Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix do some publicity this week and next, they might be rewarded with decent box office and some awards buzz later in the year. Parker Posey needs a Supporting Actress campaign. She is excellent in this film.

SAT MORNING UPDATE: Ant Man had the second lowest Friday opening for a Marvel movie– $22.6 million. Trainwreck came in at $10.7 million.

EARLIER Marvel may have its first box stumble in a long time this weekend. “Ant Man” took in $6.4 million on Thursday night. That’s not a good omen. Consider that “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” did $27.6 million on its Thursday recently. Or that the average for Marvel has been more around $10 million. Disney is already starting to revise its weekend estimates down from the original $60-$65 million to $50-$55 million.

Of course, “Ant Man” is original, and not a sequel, so that accounts for ambivalence among fans. Plus, the reviews have been in the B, B plus area, so so and not that enthusiastic. That doesn’t help. And Paul Rudd isn’t exactly an action hero, even though he says he spent a year not eating to get into shape.

Meanwhile, Judd Apatow’s “Trainwreck” — or Amy Schumer’s– did better than expected last night with $1.8 million. A totally winning comedy, “Trainwreck” may surprise everyone and give the Ant Man a nibble or two.