NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� and virtually tied for the No. 1 spot in U.S. and Canadian theaters over the weekend, with a slight edge carrying the horror sequel over the Hercule Poirot mystery, according to studio estimates Sunday.
In its second weekend of release, Warner Bros.' 鈥淭he Nun 2,鈥� a spinoff from the studio's lucrative 鈥淐onjuring鈥� franchise, grossed $14.7 million. If numbers hold, that will give 鈥淭he Nun 2鈥� (up to $56.5 million total and $158.8 million worldwide) the top spot at the box office
Very close behind was 鈥淎 Haunting in Venice,鈥� Kenneth Branagh's third Agatha Christie adaptation following 2017's 鈥淢urder on the Orient Express鈥� and 2022's 鈥淒eath on the Nile.鈥� It opened with $14.5 million.
Final box-office figures will be released Monday.
After the successful run of 鈥淢urder on the Orient Express" ($352.8 million worldwide against a production budget of $55 million) and the less-stellar global haul of 鈥淒eath on the Nile" ($137.3 million against a $90 million budget), the sluggish start for 鈥淎 Haunting in Venice鈥� may have signaled the death knell for Branagh's detective.
The 20th Century Studios film, released by the Walt Disney Co., grossed $22.7 million internationally. And it cost less than its predecessor, carrying a production budget of about $60 million.
starring Denzel Washington, dropped to third place with $7.2 million. In three weeks, its grossed $73.7 million domestically and $132.4 million worldwide. Fourth place went to "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3鈥� with $4.7 million in its second weekend of release. It's grossed $18.5 million domestically.
It was one of the quietest weekend in movie theaters this year, as Hollywood 鈥� which has spent much of the last two weeks promoting its films at the Venice, Telluride and film festivals 鈥� treads water in between the summer smashes of and and awaits its top fall movies. Some of those, have already postponed until next year due to the
One anticipated fall film, Sony's opted for a platform release, debuting in eight theaters over the weekend before expanding next weekend and going wide Sept. 29. The film, a rollicking dramatization of the GameStop stock frenzy, grossed $217,000, for a per-location average of about $27,000.
And 鈥淏补谤产颈别鈥� also remains in the picture. For the ninth straight weekend, Greta Gerwig's box-office sensation ranked in the top five films. It added $4 million to bring its domestic total to $625 million and its global haul to $1.42 billion. Meanwhile, 鈥淥辫辫别苍丑别颈尘别谤鈥� has reached $912.7 million, making it the highest grossing biopic ever, passing 鈥淏ohemian Rhapsody.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淭he Nun II,鈥� $14.7 million.
2. 鈥淎 Haunting in Venice,鈥� $14.5 million.
3. 鈥淭he Equalizer 3,鈥� $7.2 million.
4. 鈥淢y Big Fat Greek Wedding 3,鈥� $4.7million.
5. 鈥淏arbie,鈥� $4 million.
6. 鈥淛awan,鈥� $2.5 million.
7. 鈥淏lue Beetle,鈥� $2.5 million.
8. 鈥淕ran Turismo: Based on a True Story,鈥� $2.4 million.
9. 鈥淥ppenheimer,鈥� $2.1 million.
10. 鈥� Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem,鈥� $2 million.
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
