New 'Indiana Jones' tops North America box office despite tepid debut

AFP | Los Angeles

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com    

The latest -- and likely last -- installment in the popular "Indiana Jones" franchise lassoed the competition at the North American box office, industry estimates showed Sunday, but analysts noted the weak debut for the fan favorite.

"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny," starring Harrison Ford in the role the archeologist he first made famous more than 40 years ago, earned about $60 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.

With that, Indy booted animated sequel "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" from the top spot, but analysts said it was a weak start for the fifth Indiana Jones movie.

"Audience ratings are good, while critics reviews are lukewarm," said David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

Gross noted the Disney film is believed to have cost a whopping $295 million to make before marketing, but added that it was likely to make up ground overseas, where it opened with $70 million in sales.

"Across the Spider-Verse," the second installment in Sony's inventive animated take on the web-slinging superhero, brought in $11.5 million for second place, bringing its domestic total to nearly $340 million.

Pixar's animated immigrant fable "Elemental," which was bumped from second to third place, raked in $11.3 million.

Also from Sony, "No Hard Feelings" -- a throwback to the once-ubiquitous raunchy comedy genre, starring Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence -- brought in $7.5 million for fourth place.

"Transformers: Rise of the Beasts," one of the many spin-offs and sequels dominating theaters this summer, brought in $7 million for fifth place.

"Ruby Gillman: Teenage Kraken" debuted this weekend in sixth place, bringing in what Gross called a "weak" $5.2 million.

The animated offering from Universal's Dreamworks follows a shy teenager who discovers she is a descendant of the titular mythic sea creatures.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"The Little Mermaid" ($5.15 million)

"The Flash" ($5 million)

"Asteroid City" ($3.8 million)

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" ($1.8 million)