'It' scares up box office glory for 2 weeks

Record-setting horror film "It" dominated the North American box office for the second consecutive weekend, accounting for nearly three times the combined ticket sales of the next two films, final figures showed Monday.

The Warner Bros. film, based on a Stephen King novel and starring Bill Skarsgard as a creepy clown who terrorizes a sleepy Maine town, earned an estimated $60.1 million for the three-day weekend, bringing its domestic total to $218.8 million in only two weeks, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Trailing far behind were two new releases, "American Assassin" from CBS Films/Lionsgate, at $14.8 million, and "mother!" which took in just $7.5 million in ticket sales despite the star power of Jennifer Lawrence.

"Assassin" stars Dylan O'Brien as a CIA "black ops" recruit who teams up with crusty veteran agent Michael Keaton to try to prevent terrorists from starting a war.

Paramount's "mother!" earned a dubious distinction: the lowest opening gross for a Lawrence film in wide release. A psychological thriller from Darren Aronofsky, it likely suffered from going head-to-head against "It."

In the film, Lawrence and her husband, played by Javier Bardem, see their tranquil lives upended when strangers (Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer) show up at their country home.

The movie drew a rare "F" from the ComScore website, despite a relatively strong 69 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Aronofsky earned critical acclaim for earlier films, including "Black Swan" (2010), "The Wrestler" (2008), "Requiem for a Dream" (2000) and "Pi" (1998).

In fourth place was "Home Again" from Open Road Films, with a take of $5.2 million. The romantic comedy stars Reese Witherspoon as a recently separated woman whose life changes when she lets three young men move in.

And in fifth was "The Hitman's Bodyguard," at $3.6 million. The action comedy stars Ryan Reynolds as a bodyguard hired to protect a notorious hitman played by Samuel L. Jackson.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Annabelle: Creation" ($2.4 million)

"Wind River" ($2.6 million)

"Leap!" ($2.2 million)

"Spider-Man: Homecoming" ($1.9 million)

"Dunkirk" ($1.3 million)

Source: AFP