(Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co.’s “Captain Marvel” kept its superhero grip on moviegoers, leading the North American box office for a second weekend and outdrawing new releases from Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures and Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.
- The first-ever female-led superhero picture from Marvel collected $69.3 million in weekend sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters, researcher Comscore Inc. estimated Sunday. That compared with Box Office Pro’s forecast of $71.5 million. Paramount’s animated “Wonder Park” brought in $16 million, while “Five Feet Apart,” from Lions Gate and CBS Corp., generated $13.2 million. The films captured the top three spots.
Key Insights
- Theater owners are digging out of a hole after a slow start to the year and new wide releases can help that effort, even if they’re not megahits like “Captain Marvel.” Box Office Pro was predicting the weekend’s top 10 films would generate $123 million in revenue, up 4 percent from a year earlier. Potential big hits on the horizon this month include “Us” from Universal and “Dumbo” from Disney.
- “Wonder Park” follows a little girl whose imagination creates a magical theme park in the woods. It got low ratings from reviewers, with a recommendation from just 29 percent of critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Box Office Pro predicted weekend sales of $12 million.
- “Five Feet Apart” tells the story of two teenagers with life-threatening illnesses who meet in a hospital and fall in love. More critics liked the movie, with 52 percent recommending it, according to Rotten Tomatoes. Box Office Pro was forecasting $10.4 million in weekend ticket sales.
Get More
- See the weekend release schedule here.
- See Box Office Pro’s long-range forecast
--With assistance from Hailey Waller.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Golum in Los Angeles at rgolum@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Kevin Miller
©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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