Big, mean and making the green: 'Jurassic' tops N. America box offices

HUGE, green and scary stomped on cute, young and funny in North American theatres this weekend as new release Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom took in a healthy US$150 million (RM602 million) to leap past last weekend's leader, "Incredibles 2."
The dinosaur sequel, from Pixar and Steven Spielberg's Amblin Entertainment studio, fell short of the then-record US$208 million (RM835 million) opening by the last Jurassic movie in 2015, according to figures released Sunday by industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.
Still, Fallen Kingdom has passed the US$700 million (RM2.8 billion) mark worldwide – this despite tepid reviews like the New York Times's suggestion that the film is little more than "a way for people with no other plans to grab some air-conditioning".
The movie stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard as they try to rescue genetically recreated dinosaurs from a volcano-threatened island and move them to – why not? – a sprawling California mansion. Might some of them escape into the world? Might pteranodons fly around the Eiffel Tower? Who knows?
Sliding to second over the three-day weekend, Disney's Incredibles 2 still earned a respectable US$80.9 million (RM325 million) as the North American box office continued a recovery from last summer's downturn.
The film, about a quirky superhero family, had raked in US$182 million (RM730 million) in its debut weekend, a record for an animation in the US and Canada, easily surpassing the US$135 million (RM541 million) debut of 2016's Finding Dory.
The film tells the story of the Parr family-centred this time on matriarch Helen (Holly Hunter) as she battles to help bring the world's hiding superheroes back into the open, while husband Bob (Craig T. Nelson), left at home in charge of their frighteningly talented but scarily unpredictable kids, finds the homemaker's job more challenging than that of superhero.
In the third spot was Warner Bros.'s heist flick Ocean's 8, at US$11.7 million (RM47 million). Its female-centric cast has Debbie Ocean (Sandra Bullock) assembling a gang of talented women (Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter) to plan a seemingly impossible diamond heist from the Met Gala in New York.
Adult comedy Tag, also from Warner Bros., came in fourth at US$8.2 million (RM33 million). It tells the story of childhood pals (led by Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner) who keep up a game of cross-country tag for decades, sometimes at the oddest of moments.
Staying alive in fifth was Deadpool 2, the R-rated superhero flick from Fox, at US$5.3 million (RM21 million). It stars Ryan Reynolds as the irreverent, foul-mouthed title character. — AFP
Rounding out the top 10 were:
Solo: A Star Wars Story - US$4 million (RM16 million)
Hereditary - US$3.8 million (RM15 million)
Superfly - US$3.4 million (RM13.5 million)
Avengers: Infinity War - US$2.5 million (RM10 million)
Book Club - US$920,000 (RM3.7 million)