By Jake Coyle, Film Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) --"How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" breathed some fire into a slumping box office with a franchise-best $55.5 million debut over Oscar weekend.
Writer-director Dean DeBlois' third and supposedly final installment in the "How to Train Your Dragon" series notched the best opening of the year in U.S. and Canadian theaters.
Going into the weekend, overall ticket sales for 2019 were down 18 percent, according to Comscore, throwing cold water on the record box office of 2018.
But as Hollywood was set to gather for the Academy Awards on Sunday, "The Hidden World" lent the industry some good news — albeit not a hint at all of the magnitude of what that was in theaters last Oscar weekend when "Black Panther" was the top film.
Made for $129 million, "The Hidden World" rode good reviews (91 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and warm audience reaction (an A CinemaScore) to exceed the $43.7 million opening of the 2010 original (which ultimately made $494.9 million worldwide) and the $49 million opening of the 2014 sequel (which amassed $621.5 million).
The latest installment, which similarly features the voices of Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera and Cate Blanchett, is the first DreamWorks Animation release under the Comcast-owned Universal, which bought Jeffrey Katzenberg's company in 2016.
Universal trotted out "The Hidden World" abroad first. It's been in release internationally since January, earning $216.9 million through Sunday.
Last week's top film, "Alita: Battle Angel," dropped steeply in its second weekend with $12 million. That's a slide of 58 percent, and further trouble for the 20th Century Fox release from producer James Cameron and director Robert Rodriguez. The sci-fi film cost a hefty $170 million to make.
But "Alita" is doing better overseas. It grossed $92.4 million internationally over the weekend, boosted by Fox's biggest opening ever in China. It was the no. 1 film there with $62.3 million in ticket sales.
MGM's "Fighting With My Family," about professional wrestling star Saraya "Paige" Bevis, was the only other new film in wide release. It expanded to 2,711 theaters after a limited release last weekend, grossing a modest $8 million.
Directed by Stephen Merchant, "Fighting With My Family" stars Florence Pugh as Bevis and features a cameo supporting performance from Dwayne Johnson, an executive producer on the film. With an $11 million budget, it's a far smaller film than Johnson is typically a part of.
There was little of an Oscar bump for the Academy Awards nominees heading into Sunday's show. Alfonso Cuaron's "Roma" is tied for the most nominations with 10 but, as a Netflix release, it has been mostly streamed. Netflix has declined to give box-office figures for its theatrical release. The major theater operators have refused to screen Netflix films since they don't adhere to the traditional 90-day theatrical exclusivity window.
Of the nominees still in theaters, Peter Farrelly's "Green Book" fared the best, grossing $2.1 million on its 15th weekend. The best picture-nominated interracial road trip drama has grossed $69.6 million through Sunday, including $27.1 million since Oscar nominations were announced. That dwarfs the post-nominations hauls of all other contenders.
Ahead of the Oscars, "Vice" added $731,391 ($47.2 million total), "A Star Is Born" earned $700,000 ($210.9 million total), "Bohemian Rhapsody" added $645,000 ($213.1 million total) and "The Favourite" pulled in $540,000 ($32.1 million total).
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.
1. "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," $55.5 million ($34.7 million international).
2. "Alita: Battle Angel," $12 million.
3. "Lego Movie 2: The Second Part," $10 million ($10.3 million international).
4. "Fighting With My Family," $8 million.
5. "Isn't it Romantic," $7.5 million.
6. "What Men Want," $5.2 million.
7. "Happy Death Day," $5 million.
8. "Cold Pursuit," $3.3 million.|
9. "The Upside," $3.2 million.
10. "Run the Race," $2.3 million.
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More