'Joker' Narrowly Holds Off 'Maleficent' to Return to the Weekend's Top Spot
It's a narrow race at the top of the box office, but based on estimates WB's Joker was able to return to the weekend #1 spot after a brief respite last weekend as Disney's Maleficent: Mistress of Evil falls to second in its sophomore frame Meanwhile it was an equally tight race for third as well as fifth with the new releases of Countdown and Black and Blue competing for that last spot in the top five.

Returning to the top of the weekend box office is WB's Joker, which dipped just -35% as it entered its fourth week in release with an estimated $18.9 million three-day. The film's domestic cume now tops $277.5 million, which is enough to make it the seventh largest R-rated release domestically of all-time. Internationally the film added another $47.8 million this weekend, pushing the film's overseas total to $571.5 million for a global tally totaling nearly $850 million. This makes it the fifth largest DC Comics adaptation globally of all-time, topping Wonder Woman ($821.8m) and just behind Batman v Superman ($873.6m).

Dropping to second after one weekend at #1 is Disney's Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, which fell -49.8% in its second weekend for an estiamted $18.5 million and a domestic cume that now totals $65.4 million. Internationally the film added another $64.3 million for an overseas cume that now tops $228 million for a global tally just shy of $294 million.

In its third weekend of release, United Artists Releasing's animated comedy The Addams Family had the lowest drop on the board among holdovers, dropping just -28% as it enters its third week in release with an estimated $11.7 million three-day, lifting it to third place for a domestic cume that now stands at $72.8 million. Internationally, the film played in 19 markets this weekend and brought in an estimated $10.5 million for an overseas total that currently stands at $11.2 million for a worldwide cume totaling $84 million.

The Addams Family's hold on third place, however, is slight as Sony's Zombieland: Double Tap came in with an estimated $11.6 million, dipping -57% in its second weekend for a domestic cume that now stands at $47 million. Internationally, the film brought in $9 million this weekend as it is now playing in 40 markets for an overseas cume now totaling $16.6 million and a global cume that stands at $63.6 million.

STXfilms
Rounding out the top five is STXfilms's horror thriller Countdown with an estimated $9 million debut. The performance for the $6.5 million production is on par with expectations while earning a "C+" from opening day audiences. The opening weekend crowd was evenly split 50% male and female with 78% coming in under the age of 35. Internationally, the film debuted in 16 markets with an estimated $1.7 million, led by a $480k launch in the UK.

In sixth we find Screen Gems's R-rated action/thriller Black and Blue, which took in an estimated $8.3 million to go along with an excellent, "A+" CinemaScore. The film played to a crowd that was 54% male with 66% of the overall crowd coming in aged 25 or older.

Elsewhere in the top ten, A24's The Lighthouse had a solid showing as it expanded into 586 locations (+578) with an estimated $3.08 million and will expand further this next weekend as its domestic cume currently stands at $3.66 million after ten days in release.

Just behind it, 101 Studios's release of The Current War: Director's Cut finished on par with expectations, delivering an estimated $2.7 million from 1,022 locations. The film received a "B" CinemaScore from opening day audiences while playing to a crowd that was 55% male and 35% of the audience was aged 35 or older.

Outside the top ten there is plenty to mention beginning with Fox International's Housefull 4, which opened in 315 locations with an estimated $880,000 ($2,794 PTA); Kanye West's Jesus is King, which debuted in 372 IMAX locations with an estimated $830,000 ($2,231 PTA); and WB's Bruce Springsteen doc Western Stars opened in 537 theaters with an estimated $560,000 ($1,043 PTA).

Further down the list, additional limited releases include Atlas's No Safe Spaces, which opened in one theater with an estimated $45,236; Metrograph's re-release of Downtown 81 in one theater with an estimated $25,000; and Sony Classics's release of Frankie in four theaters with an estimated $22,941 ($5,735 PTA).

Next weekend sees the release of Paramount's Terminator: Dark Fate in over 3,500 theaters; Arctic Dogs will play in over 3,600 locations; Harriet will open in ~2,000 theaters; and Warner Bros. will release Motherless Brooklyn in over 1,250 theaters.

You can check out all of this weekend's estimated results right here and we'll be updating our charts with weekend actuals on Monday afternoon.

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