CIVIL War, the disturbing story of a divided and dystopian America sometime in the near future, narrowly held on to the top spot in North American theatres this weekend, earning an estimated US$11.1 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported on Sunday (Apr 21).

The A24 film stars Kirsten Dunst as an outwardly hardened but increasingly tormented photojournalist as she and her colleagues travel through a blood-soaked country on their way to Washington in hopes of interviewing a besieged third-term president.

Focusing more on gut-wrenching violence and the highs and lows of war reporting than on politics (it posits California and Texas entering an unlikely alliance against the federal government), the movie “has succeeded in uniting both blue states and red states”, as the Hollywood Reporter put it. Its two-week domestic take of US$44.9 million makes it one of A24’s top all-time grossers.

Not far behind in second spot was Universal’s new film Abigail, at US$10.2 million – “a solid opening for a new horror film”, according to analyst David A Gross.

If you thought the bad guys in Home Alone had a tough time, imagine the criminals who kidnap 12-year-old Abigail, daughter of an underworld figure, only to learn she is a killer vampire. Alisha Weir stars in this reimagining of 1936’s Dracula’s Daughter.

Also crowding the top of the list was Warner Bros’ Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, at US$9.5 million. The enormous gorilla and reptilian giant team up this time to save their species – and ours.

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In fourth was Lionsgate’s new Guy Ritchie espionage thriller The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, at US$9 million. Ritchie has directed some giant films in the past, including Disney’s 2019 Aladdin live-action remake, which took in over US$1 billion worldwide.

Henry Cavill, Eiza Gonzalez and Henry Golding star in a heavily fictionalised recounting of a daring operation conducted by British special forces during World War II.

And in fifth was Sony’s new animated action comedy Spy x Family Code: White, at US$4.9 million. Gross called that a weak opening given “super critics’ reviews and audience scores”.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

• Kung Fu Panda 4 (US$4.6 million);

• Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (US$4.4 million);

• Dune: Part Two (US$2.9 million);

• Monkey Man (US$2.2 million);

• The First Omen (US$1.7 million). AFP