Movie

The R-rated movie about Batman's villain reclaims the first place with a very narrow gap after being defeated by 'Maleficent: Mistress of Evil' last week.

• Oct 28, 2019

AceShowbiz - "Joker" has the last laugh after being defeated by "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" at North American box office last week. The R-rated movie reclaims the No. 1 spot this week, narrowly beating the Disney movie with an estimated $18.9 million.

That's just slightly above the approximately $18.5 million haul for the Angelina Jolie-starring movie. The fantasy film slides to No. 2 after a disappointing debut last weekend, despite opening in the first place at the domestic chart. The rankings, however, could switch when the final figures are released on Monday.

"Joker" continues to make profits for Warner Bros., having grossed $849 million worldwide with a modest budget of $60 million. It recently surpassed "Deadpool" to become the highest-grossing R-rated film worldwide.

Meanwhile, the "Maleficent" sequel continues to be a strong player overseas, adding $64.3 million for a current international haul of $228 million. The Joachim Ronning-directed movie is nearing to crossing $300 million with a current global total of $293 million.

At the third and fourth place, "The Addams Family" also switches places with "Zombieland: Double Tap". The animated film based on Charles Addams' comics of the same name is slightly leading the horror comedy sequel with an estimated $11.7 million. The long-awaited "Zombieland" sequel, meanwhile, garnered approximately $11.6 million in its second weekend.

Rounding out the top five is a new release, "Countdown". The "electrifying and heart-pounding" action thriller starring WWE superstars Dolph Ziggler and Kane raked in an estimated $9 million from 2,675 venues. The PG-13 film, about a nurse who downloads an app that predicts when a person is going to die, was made on a modest budget of $6.5 million.

Elsewhere in the domestic chart, Taika Waititi's "Jojo Rabbit" scored the highest screen average of the weekend with $1 million from 55 theaters ($18,500 per venue), for a current domestic total of $1.4 million. It holds the 14th place at this weekend's chart.

"There are encouraging signs regarding 'Jojo Rabbit' as we continue to build momentum," said Frank Rodriguez, Fox Searchlight's head of domestic distribution. "The polling results from this week coupled with the A CinemaScore from last weekend, along with the solid box office results are more than positive and as we move forward over the next few weeks, there is every reason to be optimistic about the film."

Top Ten Movies at Weekend Box Office for Oct. 25-27:

1. "Joker" - $18.9 million
2. "Maleficent: Mistress of Evil" - $18.5 million
3. "The Addams Family" - $ 11.7 million
4. "Zombieland: Double Tap" - $11.6 million
5. "Countdown" - $9 million
6. "Black and Blue" - $8.3 million
7. "Gemini Man" - $4 million
8. "The Lighthouse" - $3.1 million
9. "The Current War: Director's Cut" - $2.7 million
10. "Abominable" - $2 million