'Bullet Train' repeats No. 1; 'Top Gun' flies back up ranks

NEW YORK (AP) - The Brad Pitt action film 'œBullet Train'ť led all movies in ticket sales for a second straight weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, while a quiet spell in theaters and incredible staying power allowed 'œTop Gun: Maverick'ť to rocket back into third place in its 12th week of release.

After launching the previous weekend with about $30 million at the box office, 'œBullet Train'ť pulled in $13.4 million in its second go-around. David Leitch's assassin-crowded film, made for $90 million, has grossed $54.4 million in two weeks for Sony Pictures. Globally, 'œBullet Train'ť has grossed $114.5 million.

Three new films went into wide release but none cracked the top five films. The slowdown - an expected but still acute late-summer downturn in big releases - gave plenty of airspace for the year's biggest movie, 'œMaverick,'ť to make another fly-by in theaters.

Nearly three months after opening in May, Paramount Pictures put the 'œTop Gun'ť sequel back on a number of large-format screens and increased its theater count from 2,760 to 3,181. It came away with $7.2 million, bringing its cumulative total to $673.8 million. Paramount's biggest smash ever, 'œMaverick'ť sits at seventh all-time in domestic box office, not accounting for inflation, right above 'œTitanic" and just below 'œAvengers: Infinity War."

The uncommonly long run for 'œTop Gun: Maverick'ť is even rarer at a time when studios have shrunk theatrical windows, typically sending movies to streaming services after about 45 days in theaters.

'œTop Gun: Maverick'ť was very narrowly edged for second place by Warner Bros.' 'œDC League of Super-Pets.'ť Warner Bros. estimated Sunday that its animated movie took in $7.17 million in its third week of release, just a nose above the $7.15 million for 'œMaverick." Final figures Monday should break the near-tie.

But while 'œTop Gun: Maverick'ť has been a boon to theaters recovering from the pandemic, the thinly scheduled dog days of August - and potentially a chunk of September - will pose a test to the industry. This weekend, the biggest new film in nationwide theaters was A24's 'œBodies Bodies Bodies,'ť a Gen Z horror comedy that expanded to 1,269 locations after last week's opening in limited release. It came in eighth with $3.3 million.

Lionsgate's 'œThe Fall,'ť about two friends stranded atop a 2,000-foot radio tower, debuted with $2.5 million. Diane Keaton's body-swap comedy 'œMack & Rita" opened with just $1 million in ticket sales for Gravitas Ventures.

In overall sales it was the lowest ticket-selling weekend of the summer. With few new wide releases on tap - including two Idris Elba titles: the safari thriller 'œBeast'ť (Aug. 19) and George Miller's 'œThree Thousand Years of Longing'ť (Aug. 26) - moviegoing is likely to slow further in the coming weeks.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Bullet Train," $13.4 million.

2. 'œDC League of Super-Pets,'ť $7.2 million

3. 'œTop Gun: Maverick,'ť $7.2 million.

4. 'œThor: Love and Thunder,'ť $5.3 million.

5. 'œNope,'ť $5.3 million.

6. 'œMinions: The Rise of Gru,'ť $4.9 million.

7. 'œWhere the Crawdads Sing,'ť $4 million.

8. 'œBodies Bodies Bodies,'ť $3.3 million.

9. 'œElvis,'ť $2.6 million.

10. 'œFall,'ť $2.5 million.

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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP