The superhero epic Captain America: Civil War retained the top spot at the US box office this weekend with a soaring $72.5m second-week haul, but Cannes debutant Money Monster also boosted its coffers following a strong $15m bow in third place.
The third outing for Chris Evans’s patriotic Marvel titan is on course to hit $1bn at the global box office this week after racking up $645m outside the US and Canada in three weeks. In North America it boasts $295.8m in just a fortnight.
Marvel Studios’ film will also overtake Zootopia to become the top-grossing film of 2016 worldwide so far this week. Marvel owner Disney boasts three out of the top five films, with its animated sequel The Jungle Book sitting in fourth place with $828.1m. The well-reviewed Rudyard Kipling adaptation also took second place in the US this weekend, with another $17.7m for a five-week haul of $311.7m.
Money Monster, from director Jodie Foster, benefited from a high-profile bow on the Croisette last week. The thriller stars George Clooney as a television personality dealing with financial conspiracies who finds himself at the centre of the story when a desperate bankrupt viewer (Britain’s Jack O’Connell) turns up at the studio with a gun. Julia Roberts, Dominic West and Catriona Balfe play supporting roles.
Foster’s film has received lukewarm reviews. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw labelled the thriller “fun, and undoubtedly watchable”, adding: “Clooney carries off the absurdity of his position with some deadpan flair, and a tiny twinkle of camp. He is to this film what Leslie Nielsen was to the Zucker/Abrahams comedies, and Roberts functions well as his exasperated straight-woman.”
The only other new film to make the North American top 10 this weekend was low-budget horror The Darkness, which was not screened in advance for critics. Starring Kevin Bacon and Radha Mitchell as a couple whose autistic son brings home a terrifying supernatural force from the Grand Canyon, the film was described by the Guardian’s Jordan Hoffman as a “dumbass, inexpensive horror flick” featuring “poorly rendered CG ghosts”. It debuted in fourth place with $5.2m.
The top five was rounded out by the rom-com Mother’s Day, also starring Roberts, which scored another $3.2m in its third week of release for a total of $28.7m.
1. Captain America: Civil War: $72.5m. Total: $295.8m
2. The Jungle Book: $17.7m. Total: $311.7m
3. Money Monster: $15m - NEW
4. The Darkness: $5.2m - NEW
5. Mother’s Day: $3.2m. Total: $28.7m
6. Zootopia: $2.8m. Total: $331.8m
7. The Huntsman: Winter’s War: $2.5m. Total: $44.5m
8. Keanu: $1.9m. Total: $18.6m
9. Barbershop: The Next Cut: $1.67m. Total: $51.3m
10. The Boss: $1.1m. Total: $61.1m
