Sharjah24 – AFP: "The Woman King," an epic about an all-female army of African warriors, easily topped the North American box office this weekend with an estimated take of $19 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.
Boosted by a favorable critical reception -- "Reviews are sensational," said the FranchiseRe website -- it exceeded analysts' expectations, more than tripling the ticket sales of the next-highest finisher, 20th Century's "Barbarian."
That horror film tells the story of a woman (Georgina Campbell) who checks into an AirBnB rental in a sketchy Detroit neighborhood only to find it has also been booked by an oh-so-creepy Bill Skarsgard. "Barbarian" took in $6.3 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period.
In third place was a slasher film, "Pearl," a new low-budget release from A24, with ticket sales just over $3.1 million. Mia Goth stars in a blood-soaked tale that involves the brutal use of both an axe and a pitchfork, on animals and humans. Enough said.
Searchlight's comic mystery "See How They Run" placed fourth in its opening weekend, at $3.1 million.
And in fifth place was Sony action thriller "Bullet Train," starring Brad Pitt, at $2.5 million.