Civil War Holds Off Horror Flick

'Abigail' comes in second on a slow weekend
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 21, 2024 12:30 PM CDT
Civil War Holds Off Horror Flick
This image released by A24 shows Cailee Spaeny, left, and Wagner Moura in a scene from "Civil War."   (Murray Close/A24 via AP)

Civil War, Alex Garland's ominous American dystopia, remained the top film in theaters in its second week of release, according to studio estimates Sunday. The A24 election-year gamble, the indie studio's biggest budgeted film yet, took in $11.1 million in ticket sales at 3,929 theaters over the weekend. The $50 million film, set in a near-future US in which Texas and California have joined in rebellion against a fascist president, has grossed $44.9 million in two weeks, the AP reports. Its premise—and A24's marketing, which included images of US cities ravaged by war—helped keep Civil War top of mind for moviegoers.

But it was a painfully slow weekend in theaters, the kind sure to add to concern over what's thus far been a down year for Hollywood at the box office. Going into the weekend, Universal Pictures' Abigail, a critically acclaimed R-rated horror film about the daughter of Dracula, had been expected to lead ticket sales. It came in second with $10.2 million in 3,384 theaters. That was still a fair result for a film that cost a modest $28 million to make. Abigail, which remakes the 1936 monster film Dracula's Daughter, is about a 12-year-old girl taken by kidnappers who soon realize they've made a poor choice of hostage.

Below are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

  1. Civil War, $11.1 million.
  2. Abigail, $10.2 million.
  3. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, $9.5 million.
  4. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, $9 million.
  5. Spy x Family Code: White, $4.9 million.
  6. Kung Fu Panda 4, $4.6 million.
  7. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, $4.4 million.
  8. Dune: Part Two, $2.9 million.
  9. Monkey Man, $2.2 million.
  10. The First Omen, $1.7 million.
(More box office stories.)

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