'Wonder Woman' stays strong at box office, leaving 'Mummy' in dust

WONDER Woman, the muscular feminist superhero from Warner Bros. and DC Comics, stayed strong over the weekend, easily holding onto the top spot in North American theatres while leaving newcomer The Mummy in the dust.
With US$57.2 million in ticket sales for the three-day weekend, according to industry estimates, Wonder Woman has taken in a total US$205 million in its first two weeks, elevating it to what Variety.com dubbed "box office royalty."
The well-reviewed film stars Gal Gadot, she of the Fast and Furious series, as the Amazonian goddess-princess-superhero whose lasso, bracelet and tiara have magical powers. Patty Jenkins last week became the first female director to break the US$100 million mark for an opening weekend.
Universal's The Mummy, meanwhile, placed second but fell below industry expectations.
Industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said the Tom Cruise movie, the latest revival of the original Mummy made in 1932, took in US$32.2 million in its first weekend. Made for US$125 million, it has been widely panned by critics.
But studios increasingly rely on overseas ticket sales, and there Mummy has not disappointed. Its US$141.8 million international launch made it the largest opening ever for a Cruise film, Boxofficemojo.com reports.
In third on North American screens was Captain Underpants: The First Epic movie, a Fox animation based on the popular children's books by Dav Pilkey.
Underpants, which tells the story of two students who hypnotise a school principal to believe he is a superhero, took in US$12.3 million for the weekend.
Next was Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, the latest instalment in the popular franchise starring Johnny Depp as a dreadlocked pirate, at US$10.7 million.
Fifth spot went to another Disney production, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, at US$6.2 million. The lighthearted tale about misfit space adventurers played by Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel has taken in US$366.3 million domestically since it opened on May 5.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
It Comes at Night (US$6 million)
Baywatch (US$4.6 million)
Megan Leavey (US$3.8 million)
Alien: Covenant (US$1.8 million)
Everything, Everything (US$1.6 million) — AFP