Register

    “The Invitation” Tops Tepid Weekend Box Office; “Bullet Train” Finishes 2nd

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1053 Views
    This image released by Sony Pictures shows Nathalie Emmanuel in Screen Gems "The Invitation." (Marcell Piti/Sony Pictures via AP)

    By Andrew Dalton, Entertainment Writer

    LOS ANGELES (AP) --

    The horror film "The Invitation" 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 "Game of Thrones" actor Nathalie Emmanuel, "The Invitation" 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 "Bullet Train," 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's "Beast," 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's other major debut, "Three Thousand Years of Longing," the fantasy epic from "Mad Max" 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.

    "We're in that what is often the typical August slowdown heading into Labor Day weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "This was to be expected given the lineup of films this weekend."

    Paramount's "Top Gun: Maverick" 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, "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero" 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 — 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 "Halloween Ends" and "Black 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 " National Cinema Day " 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. "The Invitation," $7 million.
    2. "Bullet Train," $5.6 million.
    3. "Beast," $4.9 million.
    4. "Top Gun: Maverick," $4.8 million.
    5. "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero," $4.6 million.
    6. "DC League of Super-Pets," $4.2 million.
    7. "Three Thousand Years of Longing," $2.9 million
    8. "Minions: The Rise of Gru," $2.74 million.
    9. "Thor: Love and Thunder," $2.7 million.
    10. "Where the Crawdads Sing," $2.3 million

    Category:News
    Tags:box officeBullet TrainThe Invitation



    A Closer Look At Proposed Measures Designed To Curb Google’s Search Monopoly

    Thursday, November 21, 2024

    U.S. regulators are proposing aggressive measures to restore competition to the online search market after a federal judge ruled Google maintained an illegal monopoly for the last decade.

    The sweeping set of recommendations filed late Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice could radically alter Google's business, including possibly spinning off the Chrome web browser and syndicating its search data to competitors. Even if the courts adopt the blueprint, Google isn't likely to make any significant changes until 2026 at the earliest, because of the legal system's slow-moving wheels.

    Here's what it all means:

    What is the Justice Department's goal?
    Federal prosecutors are cracking down on Google in a case originally filed during near the end of then-President Donald Trump's first term. Officials say the main goal of these proposals is to get Google to stop leveraging its dominant search engine to illegally squelch competition and stifle innovation.

    "The playing field is not level because of Google's conduct, and Google's quality reflects the ill-gotten gains of an advantage illegally acquired," the Justice Department asserted in its recommendations. "The remedy must close this gap and deprive Google of these advantages."

    Not surprisingly, Google sees things much differently. The Justice Department's "wildly overbroad proposal goes miles beyond the Court's decision," Kent Walker, Google's chief legal officer, asserted in a blog post. "It would break a range of Google products — even beyond search — that people love and find helpful in their everyday lives."

    It's still possible that the Justice Department could ease off on its attempts to break up Google, especially if President-elect Donald Trump... Read More

    MySHOOT Profiles


    Add A Comment