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 The two movies had been in a tug-of-war for first place. Heading
into the weekend, "Sonic" was expected to easily dominate again
but Harrison Ford's "Call of the Wild" surprised by taking the
top spot on Friday. Ultimately, "Sonic" finished the weekend
with $26.3 million, enough to defeat "Call of the Wild" and its
$25 million debut.
"Sonic the Hedgehog" became a surprise box office hit after
launching with a stellar $70 million over the Presidents' Day
holiday. After its second week of release, the movie crossed the
$100 million mark in North America.
Though "Call of the Wild" beat expectations, it carries a
massive $125 million price tag so the PG film will need support
from ticket buyers across the globe to break even. "The Call of
the Wild," an adaptation of Jack London's 1900s novel, got a
mixed reviews from critics. Moviegoers were more impressed,
giving the film an "A-" CinemaScore.
STX's supernatural thriller "Brahms: The Boy II," this weekend's
other new release, generated $6 million from 2,151 venues, on
par with expectations. Overseas, the horror film pulled in
another $2.22 million for a global start of $8.22 million.
Opening weekend crowds for "Brahms: The Boy II" skewed female
(53%), while 56% were under the age of 25. The standalone sequel
to 2016's "The Boy" -- starring Katie Holmes -- cost $10
million. STX reports that its exposure on the film is under $3
million after foreign pre-sales, meaning it should be
financially successful for the studio.
Warner Bros.' comic-book flick "Birds of Prey" landed in third
place with $7 million from 1,965 theaters. After three weeks of
release, Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn spinoff has earned $72
million in North America.
Sony's "Bad Boys for Life" nabbed the No. 5 slot, bringing in $6
million in its sixth weekend in theaters. The action-comedy
sequel has amassed a huge $191 million to date.
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Neon's "Parasite" continues to draw crowds after its historic Oscar
best picture win. Bong Joon Ho's twisty South Korean thriller pulled
in another $3.1 million this weekend for a domestic tally of $48.9
million, a huge result for a subtitled film.
At the specialty box office, Focus Features adaptation "Emma"
pocketed $230,000 from five venues, averaging $46,000 from each
location. The studio is bringing the film to 100 screens next
weekend.
"'Emma' made its perfect match with audiences this weekend," said
Focus distribution president Lisa Bunnell. "Audiences have not only
been charmed by Jane Austen's classic story, but are entertained by
its new humor told through the incredible cast of Anya Taylor-Joy,
Bill Nighy, Johnny Flynn, and the film's brilliant director Autumn
de Wilde."
Amazon's "Seberg" also opened in limited release and collected
$60,487 from three theaters, averaging $20,162 per location. Kristen
Stewart stars in the political thriller about actress Jean Seberg
(Stewart), who finds herself the target of an FBI surveillance
program due to her associations with activist Hakim Jamal. The movie
got mostly negative reviews, but Stewart received praise for her
performance. Amazon is expanding the film -- directed by Benedict
Andrews and also starring Margaret Qualley, Zazie Beetz -- to 300
venues next weekend.
Overall, box office ticket sales are up 5.9% from last year
according to Comscore.
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