'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 US$17.3 million (RM73.2 million), according to Exhibitor Relations.
That is some US$12.4 million less than last week's US$29.7 million takings – but still enough for the top spot, bringing total earnings to a colossal US$291.1 million.
Close behind in the tight race for number one was Universal's newly-released American Made, which raked in US$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 US$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 US$39 million earnings.
Sitting comfortably in fourth place, having rung up US$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 US$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 (US$3.4 million)
American Assassin (US$3.3 million)
Home Again (US$1.7 million)
Til Death Do Us Part (US$1.5 million)
Mother! (US$1.4 million) — AFP Relaxnews