LOS ANGELES _ In this weekend's box-office battle, Sony newcomer "The Emoji Movie" was no competition for Warner Bros.' "Dunkirk."
The WWII drama took first place for a second week with an estimated $28.1 million in the U.S. and Canada, beating analyst expectations of $25 million. Grosses for "Dunkirk" have been bolstered by powerful reviews and widespread interest in Christopher Nolan's rendering of the rescue of Allied soldiers from a French beach as German forces closed in. The film has grossed $102.8 domestically, plus more than $131 million overseas.
"The Emoji Movie" came in second with $25.7 million, meeting analyst projections of $25 million to $30 million and surpassing the studio's expectations of $20 million.
The computer-generated comedy, which stars T.J. Miller ("Silicon Valley") as a "meh"-faced emoji with no filter, takes place in an app-filled world where emojis _ including Patrick Stewart as the voice of Poop _ wait to be used in text messages. James Corden, Anna Faris and Maya Rudolph also voice characters.
Audiences and critics diverged in their reception of the film. Moviegoers (50 percent younger than age 18, and 52 percent female) gave the picture a B grade from CinemaScore (the film had an A-minus from the target audience of those under age 18). That compared with a poor 8 percent positive rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Coming in third was Universal's "Girls Trip," with $20.1 million. It has grossed $65.5 million domestically.
Focus Features' "Atomic Blonde" debuted in fourth place with $18.6 million, slightly below analyst projections of $20 million.
The decidedly R-rated action thriller starring Charlize Theron as a lethal spy was met with raves when it debuted at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March. Now the film's wide release is testing audiences' appetite for the stylish picture that's billed as a female twist on James Bond and John Wick movies.
And audiences seem pleased, giving the picture a B CinemaScore. Critics have also generally favored the Sierra/Affinity-financed film, as it has a 75 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating.
Rounding out this week's top five was Sony's "Spider-Man: Homecoming," with $13.5 million in its fourth week. It's pulled in $278.4 million domestically, plus more than $355 million overseas.
This week, Sony releases "The Dark Tower" starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, and Aviron releases its Halle Berry-led thriller "Kidnap." Also, Fox Searchlight will release the documentary "Step" limitedly.
