‘Rampage’ takes No. 1 spot from ‘A Quiet Place’

LOS ANGELES — After a wobbly start, Dwayne Johnson muscled his way to a No. 1 opening for “Rampage” — but just barely. Close on its heels was the word-of-mouth sensation “A Quiet Place” in its second week in theaters, and not too far behind that was the Blumhouse horror “Truth or Dare” in a competitive weekend at the box office.

Warner Bros. said Sunday that “Rampage” earned an estimated $34.5 million in its first weekend in North American theaters, and dominated internationally too with $114.1 million from 61 territories.

Based on the classic arcade game, “Rampage” carried a sizable budget of at least $115 million. Although “Rampage” pulled in mixed reviews (it’s at 50 percent on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences were more enthusiastic, giving it an A- CinemaScore.

“I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel on Friday. But when I look at our global number of $148.6 million, there’s a lot to be proud of for Dwayne Johnson,” said Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution Jeff Goldstein. “Talk about a real closer, he knows how to bring it home.”

That Friday, of course, was Friday the 13th and audiences had the choice between two wide-release nail-biters to spend their entertainment dollars on — the buzzy thriller “A Quiet Place” that dominated the charts last weekend, and the new horror from the shop behind “Get Out” and “Split,” “Truth or Dare.”

After its stunning debut, John Krasinski’s modestly budgeted “A Quiet Place” fell only 35 percent in weekend two, adding $32.6 million to its domestic total, which is now just shy of $100 million for Paramount Pictures.

“Truth or Dare” also found a sizable audience that was mostly young (60 percent under the age of 25) and female (60 percent). The PG-13 rated pic stars “Pretty Little Liars” alum Lucy Hale.

With a budget of just $3.5 million, the film took in a terrific $19.1 million over