‘ JUSTICE LEAGUE’ TAKES NO. 1
It might have scored top of the North American box office, but Justice League didn’t have the super opening weekend predicted, falling short of expectations with takings of $ 96 million, according to industry estimates released Sunday.
With an all- star cast including Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman, Justice League – based on the DC Comics superhero team – sees a mash- up of classic characters fend off the threat of supervillain Steppenwolf ( Ciaran Hinds).
The big- budget Warner Bros production – which fared better internationally, taking $ 185 million – was forecast to earn $ 110 million in North American cinemas, according to Variety.
In the Chinese mainland, Justice League also takes the No. 1 spot. It opened with 109 million yuan ($ 16.43 million) and a total of 342 million yuan over the weekend, outpacing the 266 million yuan Wonder Woman – the other DC superhero adaptation Warner Bros released this year – earned during its first weekend. Writing on Twitter, industry analyst Exhibitor Relations – which released the estimates – said Justice League “may be the first film to debut w/ $ 96M that feels like a major disappointment.”
In at second – earning $ 27.1 million – was Lionsgate’s newly- released Wonder, according to the box- office tracker.
Starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay, Wonder follows the journey of August Pullman, a young boy with facial deformities, as he enters the fifth grade at a mainstream school for the first time.
After thundering to the top spot last week, Thor: Ragnarok slipped into third place in its third weekend in cinemas, taking $ 21.8 million.
Featuring the self- mocking humor of Chris Hemsworth as the powerful Norse god alongside Cate Blanchett as Hela, goddess of death, Thor has raked in an impressive $ 247.4 million since its release in North American cinemas.
Paramount’s Daddy’s Home 2 halved its earnings from last weekend, dropping to fourth place with $ 14.8 million.
The festive comedy stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as Brad and Dusty, who join forces to give their kids the perfect holiday – an effort challenged when their own fathers show up.
In at fifth was Fox’s Murder on the Orient Express, earning $ 13.8 million.
The fourth television or cinema adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic detective novel, the murder mystery was directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars as part of an A- list cast including Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz and Judi Dench.
Rounding out the top 10 highestearning films were: The Star ($ 10 million) A Bad Moms Christmas ($ 6.9 million) Lady Bird ($ 2.5 million) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri ($ 1.1 million)
Jigsaw ($ 1.1 million)