Tron: Ares, the latest installment in Disney’s sci-fi franchise, debuted atop the North American box office, industry estimates showed Sunday, but analysts said its $33.5 million haul was disappointing given its huge budget.
Tron: Ares, which stars Jared Leto, Greta Lee, and Evan Peters, tells of mankind’s first encounter with artificial intelligence in the real world. Experts and industry press said it cost $180 million to make.
In second place, with $8 million, was another new film, Roofman, starring Channing Tatum in the real-life tale of a former soldier-turned-thief who breaks out of prison and finds himself hiding out in a toy store. Kirsten Dunst co-stars in the Paramount movie.
In third place, with $6.7 million in ticket sales, was Paul Thomas Anderson’s action thriller One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn, who are generating early Oscars buzz.
DiCaprio plays a washed-up far-left revolutionary who is dragged back into action to help his daughter, while Penn portrays his ruthless military nemesis. The film, loosely based on Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, also stars Benicio del Toro, Teyana Taylor, and Regina Hall.
Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie, a live-action/animation hybrid based on the popular Netflix children’s series, stayed put in fourth place with $3.4 million in the United States and Canada.
In fifth place was Soul on Fire, based on the true story of a man who survived a childhood accident that left him with severe burns over nearly all of his body and went on to become a motivational speaker.
Rounding out the top 10 were The Conjuring: Last Rites with $2.9 million, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle with $2.3 million, The Smashing Machine with $1.8 million, The Strangers: Chapter 2 with $1.6 million, and Good Boy with $1.4 million. AFP
