LOS ANGELES, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) — Universal Pictures and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures’ horror hit “Candyman” led ticket sales at the North American box office with a three-day estimate of 22.37 million U.S. dollars in its opening weekend, according to studio figures collected by measurement firm Comscore.
Directed by Nia DaCosta, “Candyman” is based on the 1992 film of the same name, written by Bernard Rose, and the short story “The Forbidden” by Clive Barker. The film stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett and Colman Domingo.
The film follows visual artist Anthony McCoy and his girlfriend as they move into a condo in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green neighborhood, which was terrorized by a word-of-mouth ghost story about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand, easily summoned by those daring to repeat his name five times into a mirror. Anthony begins to explore the macabre details in his studio as fresh grist for paintings, unknowingly opening a door to a complex past that unravels his own sanity and unleashes a terrifying wave of violence that puts him on a collision course with destiny.
The film has received largely positive reviews with an approval rating of 85 percent based on 226 reviews to date on review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. Movie audiences gave it a “B” on CinemaScore.
Comscore data showed that “Candyman” also brought in 5.23 million dollars this weekend in 51 international markets for a global total of 27. 6 million dollars.
Disney and 20th Century Studios’ sci-fi action comedy film “Free Guy” came in second with an estimated 13.55 million dollars in its third weekend, pushing its North American cume to 79.31 million dollars.
Directed by Shawn Levy, the film stars Ryan Reynolds, Jodie Comer, Lil Rel Howery, Joe Keery, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Taika Waititi. The film follows a bank teller who discovers he is actually a background player in an open-world video game, and decides to become the hero of his own story. Now in a world where there are no limits, he is determined to be the guy who saves his world his way before it is too late.
“Free Guy” took in 37.3 million dollars this weekend in 47 overseas markets for a worldwide total of 179.6 million dollars to date. The film opened in China this weekend with an impressive 23.9 million dollars over its three-day period.
Paramount Pictures’ animated film “PAW Patrol: The Movie” landed in the third spot with 6.62 million dollars in its second weekend for a North American tally of 24.08 million dollars.
Based on the popular children’s television series “PAW Patrol,” the film follows a young boy who serves as the leader of the PAW Patrol and the pups who are called to Adventure City to save it from an evil mayor.
The film is directed by Canadian filmmaker Cal Brunker and the star-studded voice cast includes Iain Armitage, Marsai Martin, Ron Pardo, Yara Shahidi, Kim Kardashian, Randall Park, Dax Shepard, Tyler Perry, Jimmy Kimmel and Will Brisbin.