LOS ANGELES, March 30 — Space adventure flick Project Hail Mary topped the North American box office for a second straight week with US$54.5 million (RM218.7 million) in ticket sales, industry estimates showed yesterday.
Ryan Gosling stars in the Amazon MGM film as a teacher-turned-astronaut who awakes on a spaceship with a mission to save Earth from a sun-dimming phenomenon.
It is adapted from a novel by Andy Weir, the author behind the 2015 hit The Martian starring Matt Damon.
Standing firm in second place was Disney/Pixar animated hit Hoppers, with US$12.2 million in the United States and Canada, according to Exhibitor Relations.
The latest original film from Disney’s Pixar tells the story of a young animal lover who uses technology to transfer her consciousness into a robotic beaver so she can better communicate and protect wildlife.
Debuting in third place was horror flick They Will Kill You, at US$5 million.
The Warner Bros film — which stars Zazie Beetz (TV’s Atlanta), Tom Felton (of Harry Potter fame) and Oscar winner Patricia Arquette — tells the tale of a woman working as a maid in a mysterious New York building where disappearances are common.
“These are respectable numbers for an original horror comedy with a modest budget of around US$20 million to produce,” said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. “Foreign business should be solid.”
Fourth place went to Hindi-language spy thriller Dhurandhar: The Revenge with US$4.75 million.
Released just three months after the original aired in North America, Dhurandhar continues the story of an Indian spy infiltrating Pakistani crime syndicates and politics, seeking to dismantle a terror network.
Considered political propaganda by some of India’s neighbours, it has been notably banned in Pakistan.
Fifth place went to Universal’s romance film Reminders of Him, with US$4.7 million.
It is the latest adaptation of a novel by Colleen Hoover and stars Maika Monroe and Tyriq Withers.
Rounding out the top 10:
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (US$4 million)
Scream 7 (US$2.6 million)
GOAT (US$2.2 million)
Undertone (US$1.65 million)
Forbidden Fruits (US$1.2 million) — AFP
