Horror movie 'Smile' tops North America's box office

Paramount executives kept the "Smile" on their face Sunday, as the deceptively named horror film topped North America's box office for a second weekend, scaring up an estimated $17.6 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said.

Sosie Bacon, daughter of actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick, stars as a therapist whose grasp on reality starts to slip after she witnesses a gruesome event involving a patient.

"Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile," Sony's new live-action/computer animated musical comedy, placed second at $11.5 million on a slow weekend. Analyst David A. Gross called that a "weak opening" despite good reviews.

With a budget of just $50 million, he added, "the film was not designed to be in the league of the big Disney/Pixar/Illumination family juggernauts." It stars Javier Bardem, Shawn Mendes and Constance Wu.

Another new arrival, 20th Century's comedy thriller "Amsterdam," took in just $6.5 million for third place, suffering from poor reviews despite what Gross called "an impressive collection of talent in front of and behind the camera."

Directed by David O. Russell ("Silver Linings Playbook," "American Hustle"), its all-star cast includes Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Chris Rock, Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, Rami Malek and Robert De Niro in a tale about the mysterious murder of a US senator.

In fourth, down one spot from last weekend, was Sony's history-inspired "The Woman King," at $5.3 million. Viola Davis stars as the leader of an all-female army of African warriors.

And in fifth was "Don't Worry Darling" from Warner Bros., at $3.5 million. The psychological horror film slipped from second last weekend.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Avatar" (Re-release, $2.6 million)

"Barbarian" ($2.2 million)

"Bros" ($2.2 million)

"Terrifier 2" ($925,000)

"Ponniyin Selvan: Part One" ($920,000)..AFP