(FILES) This file photo taken on December 8, 2016 shows filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan arriving on the red carpet for the Smithsonian Magazine’s 2016 American Ingenuity Awards, honoring groundbreaking individuals in several categories, at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. “Split,” the M Night Shyamalan thriller about a man with multiple personalities who locks three teenage girls in an underground bunker, held onto the top spot in the North American box office for a third weekend, industry estimates showed February 5, 2017. MOLLY RILEY / AFP
“Split,” M Night Shyamalan’s thriller about a man with multiple personalities who abducts three teenage girls, topped the North American box office for a third weekend, industry data showed Sunday.
Starring James McAvoy and Anya Taylor-Joy, it earned $14.4 million in ticket sales over a three-day weekend, with sales slowed by football’s Super Bowl, box office analyst Exhibitor Relations reported.
The cumulative North American total for the film, made on a tiny $9 million budget, is now $98.5 million. With mostly positive reviews, Forbes magazine has called it “the first outright sensation of 2017.”
In second spot was the widely-panned Paramount sequel “Rings,” which scored $13 million in its first weekend.
The film, the latest in a horror franchise that began in 2002 with the money-making “Ring” — itself a remake of the 1998 Japanese original “Ringu” — tells the story of a videotape that kills those who watch it.
Third spot went to “A Dog’s Purpose,” Universal’s family-friendly flick about a canine who continually comes back to life as different dogs searching for meaning. It took in $10.5 million in its second week.
Some animal lovers had called for a boycott of the film after video footage showed an apparently terrified German shepherd being forced into rushing water on set.
In fourth place was “Hidden Figures,” Fox’s true-life story of three black women mathematicians who helped NASA put the first men in space. The comedy-drama, starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae, took in $10.2 million in its seventh week, for a healthy cumulative total of $119.5 million.
“La La Land,” Lionsgate’s nostalgic tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals, held on to fifth place in its ninth week, with revenue of $7.4 million.
Behind the acting, dancing and singing of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, the film has garnered a boatload of accolades and is a strong favorite at the Oscars.
Rounding out the Top 10 are:
“Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” ($4.7 million)
“Sing” ($4.1 million)
“xXx: The Return of Xander Cage” ($3.9 million)
“The Space Between Us” ($3.78 million)
“Lion” ($3.76 million)
