‘Hitman’ sequel makes its mark with No. 1 debut
“The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” struck the top box office target.
The Lionsgate’s film starring Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek brought in $11.6 million domestically to claim the No. 1 spot in its debut. The action-comedy — which appeared in 3,331 locations — is the follow up the 2017 breakout hit “The Hitman’s Bodyguard.”
The “Hitman” sequel notched “A Quiet Place Part II,” which took hold of the second spot in its fourth weekend of release. The Paramount horror-thriller, which stars Emily Blunt and was directed by John Krasinski, earned $9.4 million. The film became the first of the pandemic era to reach $100 million domestically.
This weekend, “Godzilla vs. Kong” became the second movie of the pandemic to cross $100 million. The film has garnered more $442.5 million worldwide.
Meanwhile, the Jon M. Chu directed “In the Heights” continued to struggle. The adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical dropped a few slots to sixth this weekend.
The Warner Bros. film earned more than $4.2 million, a 63% drop from the previous week. The critically acclaimed musical film has recently been called out for its lack of dark-skinned, Black Latinos in leading roles.
“Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” placed third in the box office with $6.1 million, while “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It”
claimed the fourth spot with $5.15 million. It barely edged the Emma Stone-led “Cruella,” which came in fifth with $5.1 million.
“Spirit Untamed,” “12 Mighty Orphans,” “The House Next Door: Meet the Blacks 2” and “Wrath of Man” rounded out the top 10.
Duchess emphasizes diversity in children’s book
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, said she hopes “any family” will see themselves represented in the pages of her children’s
book, “The Bench,” in her first interview since speaking to Oprah Winfrey in March.
The Duchess said that “growing up, I remember so much how it felt to not see yourself represented,” in an interview with National Public Radio’s (NPR) Samantha Balaban.
“So any child or any family hopefully can open this
book and see themselves in it, whether that means glasses or freckled or a different body shape or a different ethnicity or religion,” Meghan said.
“This story that I wrote for my husband and son could really be your story also,” she told the US radio network’s children’s book series, “Picture This.”
Meghan’s book was published last month. It is inspired by Prince Harry and their son Archie Harrison, and is about relationships between fathers and sons, depicted in quiet moments spent on benches.