'Sonic' outpaces its rivals to again top N.America box office

Paramount's adventure comedy "Sonic the Hedgehog" clung to a narrow lead in the North American box office this weekend, taking in an estimated $26.3 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

"Sonic," starring Jim Carrey as the villainous Dr. Robotnik, recounts the adventures of a turbocharged blue hedgehog with supersonic speed. Films based on video games rarely excel at the box office, but this one set a record for the genre with its $58 million opening last weekend.

20th Century's new adventure film "The Call of the Wild," starring Harrison Ford, placed second, taking in $24.8 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period. The story of a man and a surprisingly realistic, computer-generated sled dog is loosely based on the 1903 Jack London classic, set in the wilds of Alaska and Canada's Klondike region.

In third place, down one spot from last week, was Warner Bros. superhero film "Birds of Prey," at $7 million. Margot Robbie stars as former Joker girlfriend Harley Quinn.

Fourth spot went to new supernatural horror film "Brahms: The Boy II," from STX Entertainment, at $5.9 million. Katie Holmes stars in the frightfest -- a sequel to 2016's "The Boy" -- about a porcelain doll with an innocent face but sinister powers.

And in fifth was Sony's action comedy "Bad Boys for Life," with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as wise-cracking Miami narcotics detectives. It took in $5.8 million, pushing its global total so far to $391 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"1917" ($4.4 million)

"Fantasy Island" ($4.2 million)

"Parasite" ($3.1 million)

"Jumanji: The Next Level" ($3 million)

"The Photograph" ($2.8 million)

Los Angeles, United States | AFP