Logan slashes box-office rivals

NEW YORK — The R-rated X-Men spinoff Logan slashed into the weekend box office, opening with a massive $85.3 million US in North American theatres, according to studio estimates Sunday, while best-picture winner Moonlight got a significant, if far from superhero-sized, Oscar bump.

The debut of 20th Century Fox’s Logan, starring Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, puts it among the ranks of biggest March openings ever and top R-rated debuts.

As with last year’s R-rated Deadpool (also a Fox release), the better-thanexpected opening for Logan — a darkly violent, grittily dramatic movie applauded by critics — further proves moviegoers’ hunger for less conventional comic-book films.

Last week’s No. 1 film, Jordan Peele’s horror sensation Get Out, slid just 22 per cent — a small drop for any movie but particularly in the horror genre.

The acclaimed Universal Pictures release, made for $5 million by Blumhouse Productions, dropped to second place but still grossed $26.1 million.

The Oscar best-picture winner Moonlight had its widest release yet, appearing on 1,564 screens. It turned in its biggest weekend, too, with an estimated $2.5 million.

Lionsgate’s The Shack also opened in North American theatres over the weekend and came in third with $16.1 million. The Christian tale, starring Sam Worthington and Octavia Spencer, was slammed by critics but attracted one of the largest faithbased audiences in recent years.