Rampage sneaks up on A Quiet Place to win weekend US box office

Los Angeles

AFTER a weekend of fluctuating projections, Dwayne Johnson (just barely) owned the North American box office after all.

Though earlier estimates looked like the second frame of A Quiet Place would take the weekend, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros' Rampage snuck up to take the top slot with US$34.5 million from 4,101 theatres.

Jeff Goldstein, president of domestic distribution at Warner Bros.' attributed the weekend's numbers to Johnson's star power. "Dwayne Johnson is a closer," Mr Goldstein said. "He's got an incredible connection with his fanbase. He's a global draw unlike anybody else today."

Though the sci-fi actioner has an impressive A- CinemaScore and 80 per cent audience approval on Rotten Tomatoes, Rampage, which opened under initial predictions, will need to rely heavily on overseas to carry its costly US$120 million budget.

The video game adaptation earned US$114.1 million internationally, with a worldwide total of US$148.6 million.

Still, its opening was enough to just narrowly take the box office crown from A Quiet Place, which earned US$32.9 million in 3,589 locations.

A Quiet Place has been riding high with rave reviews, only dropping 34 per cent. That brings its cumulative domestic gross to an impressive US$100 million.

"The speed with which A Quiet Place has raced to the US$100 million mark is a testament to the film's ongoing appeal and a result of terrific word of mouth," said Paul Dergarabedian, a film analyst at comScore.

Also benefiting from the Friday the 13th weekend was Universal and Blumhouse's collaboration Truth or Dare. The supernatural thriller debuted in third place with US$19 million from 3,029 theaters.

The movie, starring Lucy Hale and Tyler Posey, made US$2.6 million internationally, combining for a global total of US$21.7 million off its budget under US$5 million.

"This is an outstanding debut considering the competitive landscape," Jim Orr, head of domestic distribution at Universal, said. "For original horror, Blumhouse has define the genre for many years. They built a model that is just terrific."

The third frame of Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One made US$11 million from 3,661 locations, lifting its domestic gross to US$114.5 million.

Rounding out the top five is the sophomore weekend of Universal's Blockers. Kay Cannon's raunchy comedy starring John Cena, Leslie Mann, and Ike Barinholtz dropped 50 per cent to take in US$10 million from 3,418 locations. In total, the film has made $37 million.

The wide release of Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs made US$5 million from 1,939 locations. The stop-motion animated film, which has grossed US$18.5 million, opened in limited release at the end of March with the best per screen average of 2018 to date.

Another newcomer, Entertainment Studios' canine-themed Sgt Stubby: An American Hero made US$1.1 million in 1,633 locations.

Directed and co-written by Richard Lanni, Sgt Stubby features the voices of LoGerard Depardieu.

The 2018 box office is down 2.4 per cent compared to 2017, according to comScore. The same weekend last year, where The Fate of the Furious opened with US$98.8 million, is down 15.5 per cent. REUTERS