More riches for ‘Crazy Rich Asians’
Rom-com Crazy Rich Asians continued to sparkle in North America, topping the box office for the second weekend running, according to industry estimates on Sunday. The Warner Bros adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s best-selling novel of the same name took $25 million, almost matching its $26.5 million debut last week, box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations said. Starring veteran actress Michelle Yeoh, former BBC host Henry Golding and US sitcom star Constance Wu, the film tells the story of a US economics professor who meets her super-wealthy boyfriend’s family in Singapore. It is the first major studio release with a mostly Asian cast since The Joy Luck Club in 1993. Shark attack thriller The Meg clung on to the runner-up spot for another week, taking $13 million – a significant tumble from last week’s earnings of $21.2 million. It stars action movie regular Jason Statham as a rescue diver who tries to save scientists trapped in a submarine from a huge, prehistoric shark. At third was newly-released mystery The Happytime Murders, which took $10 million. Based in a world where humans and puppets co-exist, the film follows a joint police force as they probe a recent murder spree targeting puppet TV stars. On its heels with takings of $8 million was Tom Cruise’s action blockbuster Mission: Impossible – Fallout, which took fourth place in its fifth weekend in theaters. Fifth went to Disney’s live-animated hybrid Christopher Robin, which took $6.3 million. Ewan McGregor plays Winnie the Pooh’s now grown-up and stressed-out pal who reunites with his old stuffed friend. Rounding out this weekend’s top 10 were: Mile 22 ($6 million) Alpha ($5.6 million) BlackKklansman ($5.3 million) A.X.L. ($3 million) Slender Man ($2.8 million)