'It' scares off competition in tight box office race

It was knocked into second place last week -- but as Halloween approaches, freaky box office sensation "It" was back at number one in its fourth week in cinemas, industry estimates showed Sunday.

Starring Bill Skarsgard as a creepy clown who terrorizes a sleepy Maine town, "It" -- the highest-grossing horror movie of all time -- earned $17.3 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.

That is some $12.4 million less than last week's $29.7 million takings -- but still enough for the top spot, bringing total earnings to a colossal $291.1 million.

Close behind in the tight race for number one was Universal's newly-released "American Made," which raked in $17 million.

Starring Tom Cruise, "American Made" tells the story of a commercial airline pilot recruited to carry out reconnaissance missions over South America for the CIA.

Espionage comedy -- and last week's number one -- "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" came in at number three, also with takings of $17 million.

With a star-studded cast featuring Colin Firth, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry and even Elton John, "Kingsman" sees a British spy organization join forces with its American counterpart to take on a new global threat.

But despite its A-list lineup, it took less than half of last week's $39 million earnings.

Sitting comfortably in fourth place, having rung up $12 million, was animation "The Lego Ninjago Movie" -- the third installment of Warner Bros.' "The Lego Movie" franchise.

Sony's remake of horror film "Flatliners" did just that in its first week in theaters, earning an anti-climactic $6.7 million.

Originally released in 1990, "Flatliners" follows five medical students who try to find out if there is life after death by conducting experiments that cause near-death experiences.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Battle Of The Sexes" ($3.4 million)

"American Assassin" ($3.3 million)

"Home Again" ($1.7 million)

"Til Death Do Us Part" ($1.5 million)

"Mother!" ($1.4 million)

Source: AFP