LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� The horror film 鈥淭he Invitation鈥� needed just $7 million to finish at the top of the weakest weekend of the summer at the North American box office, according to studio estimates Sunday.
Directed and co-written by Jessica M. Thompson and starring 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� actor Nathalie Emmanuel, 鈥淭he Invitation鈥� tells the story of a young woman who after her mother's death discovers dark secrets at her family home in the English countryside.
It debuted on 3,141 screens for Sony and cost just $10 million to make.
Sony also had the No. 2 movie with the Brad Pitt vehicle 鈥淏ullet Train,鈥� which brought in an estimated $5.6 million from 3,513 screens in its fourth week, bringing its domestic total to $78.2 million.
Universal鈥檚 鈥淏east,鈥� starring Idris Elba, finished third with $4.9 million in its second week, after making $11.6 million and ranking second in its first.
Elba was also the star of the week鈥檚 other major debut, 鈥淭hree Thousand Years of Longing,鈥� the fantasy epic from 鈥淢ad Max鈥� director George Miller, which brought in just $2.9 million on 2,436 screens and finished a distant and disappointing seventh.
The lagging results were no great surprise for this time of year.
鈥淲e鈥檙e in that what is often the typical August slowdown heading into Labor Day weekend,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淭his was to be expected given the lineup of films this weekend.鈥�
Paramount鈥檚 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick鈥� remained in fourth in its 14th weekend in theaters with an additional $4.8 million. It has made over $691 million in North America to date, making it the sixth-highest grossing domestic release of all time.
Last week's No. 1, 鈥淒ragon Ball Super: Super Hero鈥� plunged to fifth in its second weekend with $4.6 million after bringing in $20.1 million in its debut.
The weekend overall saw about $52.7 million in North American ticket sales 鈥� the slowest in months. A strong summer has meant that the year-to-date box office is still up significantly from a tepid 2021, but a long drought lies ahead until another surge of expected big earners such as 鈥淗alloween Ends鈥� and 鈥淏lack Adam," which will both be released in October.
Amid the quiet spell at the box office, movie tickets will be just $3 in the vast majority of American theaters as part of a newly launched 鈥� 鈥� on Saturday. Major chains, including AMC and Regal Cinemas, are participating, as are all major film studios.
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 Invitation," $7 million.
2. 鈥淏ullet Train,鈥� $5.6 million.
3. 鈥淏east,鈥� $4.9 million.
4. 鈥淭op Gun: Maverick,鈥� $4.8 million.
5. 鈥淒ragon Ball Super: Super Hero,鈥� $4.6 million.
6. 鈥淒C League of Super-Pets,鈥� $4.2 million.
7. 鈥淭hree Thousand Years of Longing,鈥� $2.9 million
8. 鈥淢inions: The Rise of Gru,鈥� $2.74 million.
9. 鈥淭hor: Love and Thunder,鈥� $2.7 million.
10. 鈥淲here the Crawdads Sing,鈥� $2.3 million
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Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
