‘Civil War’ leads the charge at North American box office

CIVIL War, the hard-hitting film that imagines a dystopian near-future in the United States, topped the North American box office in its first weekend, according to estimates from industry watcher Exhibitor Relations.

The feature by British director Alex Garland stars Kirsten Dunst as a journalist travelling through a broken country, in which a three-term president battles secessionist forces from California and Texas.

The movie – which has highlighted fears about the divided state of the nation ahead of November’s presidential election – raked in US$25.7 million in the US and Canada, Exhibitor Relations reported on Sunday (Apr 14).

That is more than twice the average for a dystopian thriller on its opening weekend, said analyst David A Gross.

Such movies “are generally set in futuristic worlds that look very different from contemporary life”, Gross wrote.

“Civil War is doing the opposite: It looks like right now. The film is bending the genre into something contemporary and relatable. The story is not directly partisan, but it is provoking partisan feelings,” he added.

“It is a fine balance to strike. Audiences are emotionally engaged, and that is impressive for a thriller.”

The film knocked Godzilla x Kong into second place.

That feature, which sees the enormous gorilla and reptilian giant team up to save their species – and ours – took in an estimated US$15.4 million.

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Third place went to Ghostbusters: The Ice Menace, with US$5.8 million. In the latest instalment of the popular franchise, the ghost hunters face the threat of a new ice age.

Kung Fu Panda 4, Universal and DreamWorks Animation’s martial arts comedy, climbed one spot back to fourth place with its US$5.5 million.

As for Dune: Part II, which took in US$4.3 million, it still has not bogged down after seven weeks in theatres, and also climbed one place since the previous weekend.

Denis Villeneuve’s science-fiction film has grossed US$272 million since its release in early March.

Here is the rest of the top 10:

• Monkey Man (US$4.1 million);
• The First Omen (US$3.8 million);
• The Long Game (US$1.4 million);
• Shrek 2 (special 20th anniversary re-release) (US$1.3 million);
• Suga Agust D Tour ‘D-Day’ The Movie (US$991,000).