Los Angeles: Universal's new horror film "Nope" has demolished the latest instalment of Marvel's "Thor" franchise, earning an estimated $44 million, according to industry watcher Exhibitor Relations.
The alien-invasion sci-fi mystery, which follows a Black family struggling to make ends meet on their bleached California horse ranch, is the highly anticipated follow-up to Jordan Peele's 2017 debut "Get Out."
"This is an excellent opening for an original horror film," said Franchise Entertainment Research analyst David A. Gross.
The film, which stars Daniel Kaluuya, who stole the show in "Get Out," managed to push "Thor: Love and Thunder" to second place after spending two weeks at the top.
The action comedy starring a muscle-clad, self-parodying Chris Hemsworth as a space viking pining for his ex-girlfriend Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) grossed $22.1 million from Friday to Sunday for a worldwide total of $276 million.
"Minions: The Rise of Gru" took third place. The latest wacky instalment in Universal's animated "Despicable Me" franchise grossed $17.7 million, bringing the franchise's total to $298 million.
"Where the Crawdads Sing" fell one spot to fourth. Sony's adaptation of Delia Owens' novel about an abandoned girl who grows up in the marshland of 1950s and 1960s North Carolina and looks back on that rough and violent upbringing during a murder trial years later earned $10.3 million.
The crowd-pleasing sequel to the original 1986 film "Top Gun: Maverick," starring Tom Cruise as cocky US Navy test pilot Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, fell from fourth to fifth place.
The fighter ace film has now grossed $635 million worldwide in its ninth week in theatres.
"Elvis," directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Austin Butler as the King and Tom Hanks as his exploitative manager, Colonel Tom Parker, finished sixth in its fifth weekend of release, grossing $6.3 million.
The following people rounded out the top ten:
- "Paws of Fury: Hank's Legend" ($3.9 million)
- "The Black Phone" (3.4 million dollars)
- "Jurassic World: Dominion" (three million dollars)
- Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris" ($1.3 million)
