NEW Sony horror film The Invitation topped the North American box office this weekend despite extremely weak ticket sales of just US$7 million (RM31.4 million), industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.
Its estimated total for the Friday-through-Sunday period was the lowest first-place finish in 15 months and came on what Variety called a "catastrophically slow weekend," as Hollywood's healthy June and July numbers have dropped off in August.
Fortunately for Sony, The Invitation cost a mere US$10 million to produce. "Reviews are poor," analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research said, "but that isn't necessarily a deterrent" in the horror genre.
Nathalie Emmanuel and Thomas Doherty star in the Dracula-inspired tale.
In second, up one spot from last weekend, was Sony's action-thriller Bullet Train, at US$5.6 million. Brad Pitt stars in the story of a perilous journey on a train overloaded with assassins.
Third place went to action-adventure Beast, from Universal Pictures, at US$4.9 million. Idris Elba stars as a recently widowed man who takes his daughters on safari only to be hunted by a huge rogue lion.
Top Gun: Maverick continued to defy gravity, drawing in US$4.8 million in its 14th week out for a fourth-place finish.
But last weekend's top film, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero from Crunchyroll, seems to have flown into a wall. Its ticket sales dropped 78% from its opening weekend, to a fifth-place showing of just US$4.6 million. – AFP, August 29, 2022
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