Pallade Veneta - New 'Indiana Jones' tops N.America box office despite tepid debut

New 'Indiana Jones' tops N.America box office despite tepid debut


New 'Indiana Jones' tops N.America box office despite tepid debut
New 'Indiana Jones' tops N.America box office despite tepid debut / Photo: Daniel LEAL - AFP/File

The latest -- and likely last -- installment in the popular "Indiana Jones" franchise lassoed the competition at the North American box office, industry estimates showed Sunday, but analysts noted the weak debut for the fan favorite.

Change text size:

"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," starring Harrison Ford in the role the archeologist he first made famous more than 40 years ago, earned about $60 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.

With that, Indy booted animated sequel "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" from the top spot, but analysts said it was a weak start for the fifth Indiana Jones movie.

"Audience ratings are good, while critics reviews are lukewarm," said David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

Gross noted the Disney film is believed to have cost a whopping $295 million to make before marketing, but added that it was likely to make up ground overseas, where it opened with $70 million in sales.

"Across the Spider-Verse," the second installment in Sony's inventive animated take on the web-slinging superhero, brought in $11.5 million for second place, bringing its domestic total to nearly $340 million.

Pixar's animated immigrant fable "Elemental," which was bumped from second to third place, raked in $11.3 million.

Also from Sony, "No Hard Feelings" -- a throwback to the once-ubiquitous raunchy comedy genre, starring Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence -- brought in $7.5 million for fourth place.

"Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," one of the many spin-offs and sequels dominating theaters this summer, brought in $7 million for fifth place.

"Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken" debuted this weekend in sixth place, bringing in what Gross called a "weak" $5.2 million.

The animated offering from Universal's Dreamworks follows a shy teenager who discovers she is a descendant of the titular mythic sea creatures.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"The Little Mermaid" ($5.15 million)

"The Flash" ($5 million)

"Asteroid City" ($3.8 million)

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" ($1.8 million)

G.Riotto--PV

Featured

Jersey Boys Anniversary Tour Opens in Birmingham With Gritty Account of Crime and Fame

The 20th-anniversary tour of Jersey Boys has opened at Birmingham’s Alexandra Theatre, offering a gritty and unvarnished look at the Four Seasons’ journey. The production details the band's turbulent rise from New Jersey petty criminals to international rock stars, highlighting the complex personal costs behind their musical success.

UBC professor describes police call after Galloway remark as act of care

VANCOUVER — A University of British Columbia professor has testified about a colleague’s decision to call police to visit Steven Galloway after he was accused of sexual assault, describing it as an “act of care” toward the author, who had spoken of killing himself. Galloway, who is suing his accuser and others in a defamation trial centred on the unproven allegations, has described his subsequent committal to a hospital in the United States as “terrifying.

The Cat in the Hat expands its stakes to cosmic scale in animated reboot

The folks behind the new animated “The Cat in the Hat” are pretty confident they’ve got the cat in the bag. It hasn’t even opened yet and there are onscreen references to possible movie spinoffs for the jet-powered magical couch and The Things.

Lettermen co-founder Tony Butala dies at 87

NEW YORK (AP) — Tony Butala, co-founder of the Grammy-nominated trio The Lettermen, whose lush vocal harmonies made them one of the most popular vocal groups of the 1960s, died Sunday. He was 87.

Change text size: