Disney’s ‘Moana’ dominates N. American box office again
LOS ANGELES: The animated sea-faring musical adventure ‘Moana' charted a winning course for its second straight weekend, topping the North American box office with an estimated US$ 28.4 million, an industry group said Sunday.
The Disney film about a brave Polynesian teenage girl on a risky mission to save her people has raked in a total of US$ 120 million since its opening on Thanksgiving Day, Exhibitor Relations said.
The composers of the film's score include Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music and lyrics for the smash Broadway hit ‘Hamilton'.
The Harry Potter spin- off ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them', stayed in second place from last weekend during its third week in theatres, chalking up US$ 18.5 million for a total of US$ 184 million so far.
Based on a 2001 book by “Potter” novelist J.K. Rowling, the Warner Bros. film stars Eddie Redmayne as a wizard in 1920s New York.
Acclaimed alien invasion movie ‘ Arrival', starring Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner, jumped from fifth to third place, posting US$ 7.3 million in weekend revenue after it received 10 nominations from the Critics Choice Awards last week, including for best picture, director and actress.
Adams plays an expert linguist whom the military recruits to communicate with aliens after mysterious spacecraft appear over Earth, which stands on the brink of war.
Just behind in fourth place for a second straight week with US$ 7 million, ‘Allied' stars Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard as World War II spies who fall in love during an assassination mission and eventually get married and have a child, but then become pitted against each other.
Dropping from third to fifth place, Marvel's ‘ Doctor Strange' earned US$ 6.5 million for a total of US$ 215 million.
The movie, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as neurosurgeon Stephen Strange -- whose life changes forever after a horrific car accident -- is the 14th film in Disney's “Marvel Cinematic Universe”.
Rounding out the top 10 films were:
‘ Trolls' ( US$ 4.6 million)
‘Hacksaw Ridge' ( US$ 3.4 million)
‘Bad Santa 2' ( US$ 3.3 million) ‘Incarnate' ( US$ 2.7 million) ‘Almost Christmas' ( US$ 2.5 million)'