NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� The Brad Pitt action film 鈥淏ullet Train鈥� 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 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick鈥� to rocket back into third place in its 12th week of release.
After , 鈥淏ullet Train鈥� 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, 鈥淏ullet Train鈥� has grossed $114.5 million.
Three new films went into wide release but none cracked the top five films. The slowdown 鈥� an expected but still acute late-summer downturn in big releases 鈥� gave plenty of airspace for the year's biggest movie, 鈥淢averick,鈥� to make another fly-by in theaters.
Nearly three months after opening in May, Paramount Pictures put the 鈥淭op Gun鈥� 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, 鈥淢averick鈥� sits at seventh all-time in domestic box office, not accounting for inflation, right above 鈥淭itanic" and just below 鈥淎vengers: Infinity War."
The uncommonly long run for 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick鈥� is even rarer at a time when studios have shrunk theatrical windows, typically sending movies to streaming services after about 45 days in theaters.
鈥淭op Gun: Maverick鈥� was very narrowly edged for second place by Warner Bros.' 鈥淒C League of Super-Pets.鈥� 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 鈥淢averick." Final figures Monday should break the near-tie.
But while 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick鈥� has been a boon to theaters recovering from the pandemic, the thinly scheduled dog days of August 鈥� and potentially a chunk of September 鈥� will pose a test to the industry. This weekend, the biggest new film in nationwide theaters was A24's 鈥淏odies Bodies Bodies,鈥� 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 鈥淭he Fall,鈥� about two friends stranded atop a 2,000-foot radio tower, debuted with $2.5 million. Diane Keaton鈥檚 body-swap comedy 鈥淢ack & 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 鈥� including two Idris Elba titles: the safari thriller 鈥淏east鈥� (Aug. 19) and George Miller's 鈥淭hree Thousand Years of Longing鈥� (Aug. 26) 鈥� 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. 鈥淒C League of Super-Pets,鈥� $7.2 million
3. 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick,鈥� $7.2 million.
4. 鈥淭hor: Love and Thunder,鈥� $5.3 million.
5. 鈥淣ope,鈥� $5.3 million.
6. 鈥淢inions: The Rise of Gru,鈥� $4.9 million.
7. 鈥淲here the Crawdads Sing,鈥� $4 million.
8. 鈥淏odies Bodies Bodies,鈥� $3.3 million.
9. 鈥淓lvis,鈥� $2.6 million.
10. 鈥淔all,鈥� $2.5 million.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
