'Barbarian' is top film amid late-summer box office doldrums
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The horror film 'œBarbarian'ť won the weekend by bringing in $10 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, as the late-summer doldrums at the box office continued.
Director Zach Cregger's debut from Disney's 20th Century Studios premiered at San Diego Comic-Con in July and opened Friday on 2,340 screens.
'œBarbarian'ť tells the story of a young woman (Georgina Campbell) who finds her Airbnb-rented house weirdly occupied by a stranger (Bill SkarsgÃ¥rd) in a half-ruined section of Detroit. It goes on to subvert several horror conventions.
The hardly head-turning numbers were expected in a nearly always slow September, with the bigger movies of fall and the holiday season many weeks away. 'œBarbarian'ť nearly earned back its $10.5 million budget in its first weekend, and accounted for nearly a quarter of the entirety of theatrical earnings.
'œIn a weekend where the overall box office is quite low, the top number of $10 million is a really solid number for this marketplace,'ť said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore. 'œHorror movies are always an accountant's dream, and this is why.'ť
Coming in a distant second, but playing on just 810 screens, was 'œBrahmÄstra: Part One: Shiva,'ť an Indian, Hindi-language fantasy epic from Star Studios, another subsidiary of Disney.
The film written and directed by Ayan Mukerji, about a DJ named Shiva who discovers a connection with the element of fire and an ability to awaken a supernatural super-powerful weapon, earned $4.4 million in its first weekend in North America.
Long-running Hollywood fare, 'œBullet Train'ť and 'œTop Gun: Maverick,'ť occupied the three and four spots.
'œBullet Train'ť has brought in $92.5 million in six weeks and 'œTop Gun: Maverick'ť has earned $705.7 million in 16 weeks. It now stands as the fifth highest-grossing domestic film of all time, just behind 'œAvatar'ť and just ahead of 'œBlack Panther," and is the biggest North American earner ever that is not part of a sci-fi or superhero franchise.
"This movie is putting down superhero numbers," Dergarabedian said.
More quiet weeks likely lie ahead before a surge of expected big earners, including 'œHalloween Ends'ť and 'œBlack Adam," arrive in October.
Soon after that, the sequel 'œ Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 'ť kicks off the holiday box office season and an even bigger round of expectations.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 'œBarbarian,'ť $10 million.
2. 'œBrahmastra Part One: Shiva,'ť $ 4.4 million.
3. 'œBullet Train,'ť $3.25 million.
4. 'œTop Gun: Maverick,'ť $3.2 million.
5. 'œDC League of Super-Pets,'ť $2.8 million.
6. 'œThe Invitation," $2.6 million.
7. 'œLifemark,'ť $2.2 million.
8. 'œBeast,'ť $1.8 million.
9. 'œMinions: The Rise of Gru,'ť $1.65 million.
10. 'œSpider Man: No Way Home,'ť $1.3 million.
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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andyjamesdalton