Entertainment

‘John Wick’ opens on top as ‘Avengers’ nears historic mark

Published

6 years ago

May 19, 2019

“ Avengers : Endgame ” finally yielded the top spot in North American box offices this weekend to the latest “ John Wick ” action film , but the Marvel Studios / Disney blockbuster edged closer to historic status as the all- time No . 1 grossing film .

“ Avengers ” took in an estimated domestic total of $ 29 . 4 million in its fourth weekend out , industry watcher Exhibitor Relations estimated Sunday, bringing its worldwide total to $ 2 . 61 billion , just shy of the $ 2 . 79 billion “ Avatar ” earned in 2009 .
But in North America , it fell well behind Lionsgate’ s new “ John Wick : Chapter 3 – Parabellum, ” which posted a strong $ 57 million for its opening three – day weekend.The third “ John Wick ” movie again stars Keanu Reeves as a retired hitman , this time being chased by an army of killers after a $ 14 million contract is put on his head . The film also stars Halle Berry , Laurence Fishburne , Ian McShane and Anjelica Huston.

In third , down one spot from last weekend, was Warner Bros . ’ family – friendly “ Pokemon : Detective Pikachu , ” at $ 24 . 8 million . Based on a Nintendo video game and subsequent anime series, it has the animated title character ( voiced by Ryan Reynolds ) teaming up with a young boy ( Justice Smith , in a live- action role) to seek the boy’ s missing father .

“ A Dog’ s Journey ” from Universal placed fourth , at $ 8 million .
Based on a novel of the same name , it stars Dennis Quaid and Josh Gad in the story of a dog that is repeatedly reincarnated , each time to protect someone close to it — a plot device that works for some animal lovers but which critics have called “ emotionally manipulative ” and “ insufferable . ”
The movie is a follow- up to 2017 ’ s “ A Dog’ s Purpose. ”

In fifth was “ The Hustle ” from United Artists , at $ 6 . 1 million . The female – driven revamp of “ Dirty Rotten Scoundrels ” star Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway as two con – women trying to scam an internet millionaire .

Rounding out the weekends top 10 were :
“ The Intruder ” ( $ 4 million )
“ Long Shot ” ( $ 3 . 4 million )
“ The Sun Is Also a Star” ( $ 2 . 6 million )
“ Poms” ( $ 2 . 1 million )
“ UglyDolls ” ( $ 1 . 6 million )
( AFP )