JOSTLING for the top three spots in North American theatres this weekend were the same films from last week, with ‘The Flash’ overtaken by the latest ‘Spider-Man’ iteration.
The debut of the raunchy comedy ‘No Hard Feelings’, as well as that of ‘Asteroid City’, the latest offering from cult director Wes Anderson, failed to get past last weekend's top-earning films, although analysts said they performed well for their respective genres.
Sony's ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ took in US$19.3 million (RM90.41 million) over the weekend, according to Sunday estimates from Exhibitor Relations, bringing its domestic total to more than US$317 million, with showings in international theatres pushing the cumulative global earnings to US$560 million.
The film, a sequel to 2018's ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ and the latest spin on the Marvel Comics superhero, picks up the story of half-Black, half-Latino Miles Morales, voiced by Shameik Moore.
Pixar's animated immigrant fable ‘Elemental’, which also held last week's No 2 spot, earned US$18.4 million, bringing its total to US$65 million.
Warner Bro's ‘The Flash’ took the third spot, earning US$15.2 million a week after it opened at number one, bringing its box-office war chest to US$87.6 million so far.
‘No Hard Feelings’, Sony's R-rated offering starring Jennifer Lawrence, debuted this weekend in fourth place.
The movie's US$15.1 million haul is "a good opening for an original romantic/sex comedy, at above-average levels for the genre," said analyst David A. Gross, writing for industry newsletter FranchiseRe.
"After a long decline between 2015 and 2022, romantic/sex comedies are growing again," Gross said, with ‘Joy Ride’ and ‘Barbie’ coming out next month.
Amid the spin-offs and sequels dominating the box office this weekend, Paramount's ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ brought in US$11.6 million, for fifth place.
Next in line, following a limited release last week, was Focus Features' ‘Asteroid City’, from off-beat director Anderson, for US$9 million.
While that's a far cry from the US$120 million netted by ‘Spider-Man’ its opening weekend, it represents "a very good opening for a specialty independent comedy," Gross said.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
‘The Little Mermaid’ (US$8.6 million)
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 3’ (US$3.5 million)
‘The Blackening’ (US$3 million)
‘The Boogeyman’ (US$2.5 million) – AFP, June 26, 2023
