LOS ANGELES -- For the third weekend in a row, Universal's Split landed in the No. 1 box-office spot, beating out new releases -- Paramount's Rings, STX Entertainment's The Space Between Us and Columbia's The Comedian. Holdovers dominated on a slow Super Bowl weekend.
Split, starring James McAvoy as a kidnapper with multiple personalities, added another $14.4 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters last weekend for a domestic total to date of $98.5 million. The film, from M. Night Shyamalan, has pulled in $44 million internationally for a worldwide total of $142.5 million.
Landing in second place was newcomer Rings, with $13 million. Internationally, the picture brought in $15.2 million for a worldwide gross of $28.2 million to date.
Rings, about a video that kills people who watch it, is a reboot of a 15-year-old franchise. The 2002 original, The Ring, was a highly profitable blockbuster for DreamWorks Pictures ($250 million in worldwide ticket sales) and launched a frenzy of companies looking to remake Japanese fright-fests for American audiences. Its 2005 sequel, The Ring Two, opened with $35 million domestically.
Perhaps because of the recent string of successful horror movies at the box office, with Split and STX's The Bye Bye Man, audiences (54 percent female, 67 percent under 25) didn't take to Rings. It received a C-minus Cinema-Score.
Universal's A Dog's Purpose took third, with $10.5 million in its second week. The film, which was at the center of a controversy regarding the treatment of its animal actors, has grossed about $33 million domestically to date. It's slowly on its way to a $50 million worldwide total.
Fox's Hidden Figures, starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae, took fourth with $10.2 million. The film, about the black women mathematicians and engineers who helped put the first Americans in space, has been a hit with critics as well as moviegoers. On the heels of its surprising Screen Actors Guild Award win two weeks ago for best ensemble, the picture continues to be a box-office magnet in its seventh weekend with $119.5 million domestically.
In the weekend's fifth spot is another awards-season favorite, Lionsgate's La La Land, with about $7.4 million. In its ninth week, the musical -- with a record-tying 14 Oscar nominations, including nods for its stars, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling -- has brought in $118.2 million with more surely to come before the awards on Feb. 26.
As for the other new releases, the sci-fi romance The Space Between Us bombed in ninth place in its first week. It brought in about $4 million, well below analyst expectations of a soft $10 million debut. Space follows the first human born on Mars, played by Asa Butterfield.
Despite the film's poor performance, moviegoers (69 percent female, 33 percent under 18) who did see the picture enjoyed it, giving it an A-minus CinemaScore. Still, the film is an overall disappointment after being produced for $30 million. (STX's share was less than $3.7 million after foreign licensing, tax credits and co-financing.)
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by comScore:
Split, Universal, $14,424,195, 3,373 locations, $4,276 average, $98,540,660, three weeks.
Rings, Paramount, $13,002,632, 2,931 locations, $4,436 average, $13,002,632, one week.
A Dog's Purpose, Universal, $10,509,170, 3,178 locations, $3,307 average, $32,610,435, two weeks.
Hidden Figures, 20th Century Fox, $10,189,588, 3,401 locations, $2,996 average, $119,491,683, seven weeks.
La La Land, Lionsgate, $7,372,066, 3,236 locations, $2,278 average, $118,228,990, nine weeks.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, Screen Gems, $4,701,302, 3,104 locations, $1,515 average, $22,053,077, two weeks.
Sing, Universal, $4,052,190, 2,293 locations, $1,767 average, $262,878,670, seven weeks.
xXx: Return of Xander Cage, Paramount, $3,875,479, 2,478 locations, $1,564 average, $40,200,366, three weeks.
The Space Between Us, STX Entertainment, $3,775,596, 2,812 locations, $1,343 average, $3,775,596, one week.
Lion, The Weinstein Co., $3,760,097, 1,405 locations, $2,676 average, $24,465,771, 11 weeks.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Disney, $2,922,879, 1,613 locations, $1,812 average, $524,632,391, eight weeks.
Monster Trucks, Paramount, $2,166,214, 1,901 locations, $1,140 average, $31,160,807, four weeks.
The Founder, The Weinstein Co., $1,433,671, 936 locations, $1,532 average, $9,830,476, three weeks.
Gold, The Weinstein Co., $1,375,240, 2,166 locations, $635 average, $6,146,705, two weeks.
Moana, Disney, $1,337,481, 847 locations, $1,579 average, $242,096,996, 11 weeks.
Manchester by the Sea, Roadside Attractions, $1,324,456, 974 locations, $1,360 average, $43,799,269, 12 weeks.
Fences, Paramount, $1,233,943, 948 locations, $1,302 average, $52,659,963, eight weeks.
Patriots Day, Lionsgate, $1,103,031, 1,003 locations, $1,100 average, $30,214,005, seven weeks.
Moonlight, A24, $1,002,056, 842 locations, $1,190 average, $19,407,305, 16 weeks.
Sleepless, Open Road, $889,310, 672 locations, $1,323 average, $19,285,538, four weeks.
MovieStyle on 02/10/2017