‘Batman’ swings high, again topping North America box office

LOS ANGELES (AFP): “The Batman” continued swinging from the rooftops this weekend, taking in an estimated box-office-leading $36.8 million in North American theaters while performing strongly overseas, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

The dark and gritty superhero film from Warner Bros., starring Robert Pattinson in the title role, has passed the $300 million mark domestically in just three weeks, while nearly doubling that figure overseas, with $598 million.

In second place for the Friday-through-Sunday period was another dark film, the fantasy animation “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” from Crunchyroll/Funimation (95 percent owned by Sony Pictures). It tells the story of a young student who becomes a sorcerer and battles a cursed spirit.

Already hugely popular in Japan, it took in $17.7 million in North American theaters, which David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research called “a terrific opening” for a rare anime in wide release.

The third spot went to Sony’s “Uncharted,” at $8 million. Tom Holland plays an Indiana Jones-style treasure hunter.

In fourth was another new release, a slasher film from indie studio A24 simply titled “X,” at $4.4 million. While that total was relatively modest, Gross said, “Horror is not expensive to make” and “X,” which has enjoyed good reviews, “should recover its costs and make a few dollars.”

And in fifth place was Metro Goldwyn Mayer’s road-trip comedy “Dog,” at $4.1 million. It stars Channing Tatum.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

“Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($3.2 million)

“Death on the Nile” ($1.7 million)

“The Outfit” ($1.5 million)

“The Kashmir Files” ($1.5 million)

“Sing 2” ($1.5 million)