‘Nun 2’ narrowly beats ‘A Haunting in Venice’ during quiet weekend in movie theaters – Winnipeg Free Press

NEW YORK (AP) — “The Nun 2” and “A Haunting in Venice” virtually tied for the No. 1 spot in U.S. and Canadian theaters over the weekend, with the horror sequel holding a slight lead over the mystery of Hercule Poirot, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

In its second weekend of release, Warner Bros.’ “The Nun 2,” a spinoff of the studio’s lucrative “Conjuring” franchise, grossed $14.7 million. If the numbers hold up, that will give “The Nun 2” (up $56.5 million total and $158.8 million worldwide) the top spot at the box office for the second week in a row.

Closely followed by “A Haunting in Venice”, the third adaptation of Kenneth Branagh’s Agatha Christie after “Murder on the Orient Express” in 2017 and “Death on the Nile” in 2022. It opened with 14.5 million Dollars.

Final box office figures will be released on Monday.

After the success of “Murder on the Orient Express” ($352.8 million worldwide against a production budget of $55 million) and the less stellar global gross of “Death on the Nile” ($137, $3 million against a $90 million budget), the slow start of “A Haunting in Venice” may have signaled the death knell for Branagh’s detective.

The 20th Century Studios film, released by Walt Disney Co., grossed $22.7 million internationally. And it cost less than its predecessor, with a production budget of about $60 million.

“The Equalizer 3,” starring Denzel Washington, fell to third place with $7.2 million. In three weeks, it grossed $73.7 million domestically and $132.4 million worldwide. Fourth place went to “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3” with $4.7 million in its second weekend of release. It has raised $18.5 million domestically.

It was one of the quietest weekends in movie theaters this year, as Hollywood – which has spent much of the last two weeks promoting its films at the Venice, Telluride and Toronto film festivals – stays afloat between the summer hits of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” and awaits its best fall films. Some of them, like “Dune: Part Two,” have already been postponed until next year due to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.

A film planned for the fall, Sony’s “Dumb Money,” opted for a platform release, debuting in eight theaters over the weekend before expanding the next weekend and opening on September 29. The film, a fun dramatization of the GameStop stock frenzy, grossed $217,000. for an average per location of around $27,000.

And “Barbie” also remains in the picture. For the ninth consecutive weekend, Greta Gerwig’s box office sensation ranked among the top five films. She added $4 million to bring her domestic total to $625 million and her global haul to $1.42 billion. Meanwhile, “Oppenheimer” has grossed $912.7 million, making it the highest-grossing biopic in history, surpassing “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Estimated ticket sales from Friday to Sunday at theaters in the United States and Canada, according to Comscore. Final national figures will be published on Monday.

1. “The Nun II”, $14.7 million.

2. “A Haunting in Venice,” $14.5 million.

3. “The Equalizer 3,” $7.2 million.

4. “My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3”, $4.7 million.

5. “Barbie”, 4 million dollars.

6. “Jawan”, $2.5 million.

7. “Blue Beetle”, $2.5 million.