‘Space Jam’ tops North America box office
LOS ANGELES: New Warner Bros. release ‘Space Jam�� A New Legacy’ rocketed to the top of the North American box office over the weekend, taking in an estimated US$31.6 million in the best showing of a family film since Covid first hammered the industry.
The live action/animated movie – a sequel nearly 25 years after the original ‘Space Jam’ with Michael Jordan – has NBA superstar LeBron James teaming up with Bugs Bunny and other Looney Tunes characters in a high-stakes basketball game against a rogue artificialintelligence entity threatening his son.
The film’s surprise showing, despite middling-to-terrible reviews – the New York Post called it an ‘abomination’ – propelled it past last weekend’s leader, Disney superhero film ‘Black Widow.’
That Marvel Studios production, starring Scarlett Johansson, took in US$25.6 million in the Friday-throughSunday period, down sharply from its US$80.4 million opening, according to industry watcher Exhibitor Relations.
In third place was Sony’s psychological thriller ‘Escape
Room�� Tournament of Champions,’ at US$8.8 million. Taylor Russell and Logan Miller, reprising their roles in 2019’s ‘Escape Room,’ face a series of deadly traps and puzzles set by the evil Minos.
Fourth place went to Universal’s ‘F9�� The Fast Saga,’ at US$7.6 million, bringing the fourweek domestic total of the Vin Diesel/John Cena action thriller to US$154 million.
And in fifth was Universal’s animated ‘Boss Baby�� Family Business,’ at US$4.7 million.
Meantime, ‘Roadrunner�� A Film About Anthony Bourdain’ – the Focus Features/CNN Films movie about the world-traveling chef – had the best opening of a documentary this year, at US$1.9 million. — AFP
Rounding out the top 10 were�� ‘The Forever Purge’ (US$4.2 million)
‘A Quiet Place�� Part II’ (US$2.3 million) ‘Roadrunner’ (US$1.9 million) ‘Cruella’ (US$1.1 million) ‘Pig’ (US$945,000)