Angel Has Fallen sears box office competition over US holiday weekend

Los Angeles

ANGEL Has Fallen ruled the North American box office during an expectedly quiet Labor Day weekend. The third entry in the action franchise generated US$11.5 million over the weekend and is on track to close out the three-day holiday through Monday with an estimated haul of US$14.4 million.

Without any new nationwide offerings from a major Hollywood studio, those ticket sales were enough to maintain first place on domestic box office charts. After two weekends in theatres, the Gerard Butler-led Angel Has Fallen has earned US$43.6 million.

Don't Let Go, a super-natrual thriller, debuted with US$2.4 million from 920 North American theatres and is expected to finish the holiday weekend with about US$3 million. David Oyelowo stars as a detective working to solve the murder of his niece (portrayed by Storm Reid) when he surprisingly gets a phone call from her. Don't Let Go premiered at Sundance under the name, Relive.

Meanwhile, Forrest Film's drama Bennett's War is hoping to hit the US$500,000 mark in box office receipts through Monday. Over the weekend, the movie collected US$445,151.

Labor Day weekend isn't usually a busy time of year for moviegoing. Universal's Good Boys held steady at No 2, pocketing US$9.1 million over the weekend for an estimated US$11.5 million Labor Day weekend. After three weeks in cinemas, the R-rated comedy has earned a solid US$58 million.

Disney's The Lion King nabbed third place, earning US$6.7 million during its seventh outing and eyeing US$8.8 million through the four-day weekend. Through Sunday, the photo-realistic remake has earned US$521 million in North America. The Lion King is now the seventh-biggest movie in history with US$1.562 billion globally, passing Furious 7 (US$1.516 billion) and The Avengers (US$1.519 million).

In fourth spot, Hobbs & Shaw generated US$6.2 million over the weekend and should finish the holiday with US$8 million. The Fast & Furious spinoff, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Jason Statham, has made US$158.9 million at the domestic box office and US$684.2 million worldwide. Sony's Overcomer amassed US$5.7 million for a fifth-place finish. The faith-based film looks to end Monday with US$7.8 million, which would bring North American ticket sales to US$19.4 million. REUTERS