‘Ready Player One’ is No. 1; Perry gets love
LOS ANGELES – Steven Spielberg has found his way back to the top of the box office with his new actionadventure Ready Player One, and Tyler Perry has scored again with Acrimony.
Studio estimates say Spielberg’s virtual-reality-focused film earned a solid $53.2 million in its first four days in theaters; $41.2 million of that came from the three-day weekend.
Tyler Perry’s Acrimony took second place. Driven by an overwhelmingly female audience, the thriller starring Taraji P. Henson earned $17.1 million for the three-day weekend, followed by Marvel’s superhero sensation Black Panther in third with $11.3 million. A batch of faith-based films also competed for attention at Easter, including I Can Only Imagine, inspired by the Mercy Me’s hit Christian song, which scored again with $10.8 million to take fourth place. It outshined Paul, Apostle of Christ, which earned $3.5 million in its second weekend, and the new God’s Not Dead: A Light in Darkness, which stumbled with $2.6 million. Even Wes Anderson’s Isle of Dogs, in limited release, beat God’s Not Dead 3 with $2.8 million.
Pacific Rim Uprising fell to fifth with $9.2 million, down 67% from last weekend’s No. 1 opening.
The year is still down nearly 4%, too, but there are some superheroes on the horizon. “The cavalry is on the way in Avengers: Infinity War,” Dergarabedian says.
Final figures are expected Monday.