‘Sully’ soars over ‘Blair Witch,’ ‘Bridget’ at box office

LOS ANGELES >> “Blair Witch,” “Bridget Jones’s Baby” and “Snowden” didn’t ground “Sully” at the weekend box office.

The Warner Bros. dramatization of the Miracle on the Hudson directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks as Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger remained at No. 1 for the second week with $22 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The film tells the story of Sullenberger’s emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River in 2009 and the subsequent National Transportation Safety Board investigation.

A trio of newcomers failed to fly close to the haul earned by “Sully,” which stands at $70.5 million after two weeks.

Lionsgate’s horror revival “Blair Witch” nabbed $9.7 million at No. 2, while the Working Title Films comedy “Bridget Jones’s Baby” with Renee Zellweger again starring as the titular character crawled away with $8.2 million.

“We always think just because something has a recognizable brand name that it’ll automatically be a hit with audiences, but that’s not always the case,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box office tracker comScore.

“Bridget Jones’s Baby” fared better overseas, where the third film in the film series starring Zellweger as the goofy British singleton from Helen Fielding’s novels earned $29.9 million in 39 markets, including Jones’ native United Kingdom.

Open Road Films’ “Snowden,” which features Joseph Gordon-Levitt portraying NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, domestically opened at No. 4 with $8 million. The debut marks the lowest in filmmaker Oliver Stone’s career.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Callie Hernandez in performs a scene from “Blair Witch.”