Movie

With a combined $112 million in ticket sales, it's the lowest Easter frame since 2005 as studios held themselves from debuting big movies ahead of 'Avengers: Endgame'.

• Apr 22, 2019

AceShowbiz - "The Curse of La Llorona" conjures its way to the top of North American box office on Easter weekend. The Warner Bros. Pictures movie brought in an estimated $26.5 million from 3,372 theaters on its debut weekend.

The R-rated horror film is the latest horror film co-produced by James Wan in association with New Line Cinema. It holds an approval rating of just 32% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it didn't deter the audiences' spirit to watch the movie. They eventually gave it "B-" on CinemaScore.

"We are thrilled how much it overperformed," says Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution of "The Curse of La Llorona". "The folklore of the Weeping Woman is so prevalent throughout Latino culture that even with its rating, it transcended expectations." Hispanics accounted for roughly 50% of opening weekend audiences, and 60% of ticket buyers were over 25 years old.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, also weighs in on the movie's victory, "Putting this movie in this sweet spot right before the opening of '[Avengers:] Endgame' really paid big dividends. It was a brilliant stroke of scheduling."

"The Curse of La Llorona" easily overthrows "Shazam!" from the leader position on the chart. The DC superhero movie, also from Warner Bros., slides down to No. 2 with an estimated addition of $17.3 million to its domestic gross.

Fox's "Breakthrough", a faith-based film about a parent's unwavering love for their children, launches at No. 3 with approximately $11.1 million. It's a solid start for the Chrissy Metz-starring drama considering its production budget of just $14 million.

"Roxann Dawson, DeVon Franklin, and the Fox 2000 team have delivered a wonderfully crafted, deeply emotional film that we're thrilled to see resonating with audiences," Cathleen Taff, Disney's president of global distribution, comments on the movie's performance. "And with excellent reviews and word of mouth, we expect a healthy run ahead."

"Breakthrough" was certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with 67% approval ratings, while audiences gave it "A" on CinemaScore. It's the first film to be released through 20th Century Fox since the Disney merger.

Gaining momentum from the upcoming release of "Avengers: Endgame", "Captain Marvel" rises two spots to No. 4 with approximately $9 million on its seventh weekend, bringing its total domestic gross to $400 million so far. Globally, it has earned $1.09 billion, making it the eighth biggest superhero movie of all time.

"Little" rounds out the top five, down three places from last week's No. 2 with an estimated addition of $8.4 million on its second weekend.

Overall, this weekend's offerings amassed a combined $112 million in ticket sales, marking the worst Easter weekend showing since 2005, according to Comscore. It's likely due to the fact that studios avoided debuting big movies ahead of Marvel's "Avengers: Endgame", which is expected to crush records when it hits theaters on April 26.

Top Ten Movies at Weekend Box Office for Apr. 19-21:

1. "The Curse of La Llorona" - $26.5 million
2. "Shazam!" - $17.3 million
3. "Breakthrough" - $11.1 million
4. "Captain Marvel" - $9.1 million
5. "Little" - $8.4 million
6. "Dumbo" - $6.8 million
7. "Pet Sematary" - $4.8 million
8. "Missing Link" - $4.4 million
9. "Us" - $4.3 million
10. "Hellboy (2019)" - $3.9 million