The China Mail - Third 'Avatar' film stays atop N. American box office rankings

The third installment in director James Cameron's blockbuster series stars Zoe Saldana as Na'vi warrior Neytiri and Sam Worthington as ex-Marine Jake Sully, who must battle a new foe threatening their family's life on the planet Pandora.

The film grossed $217.6 million at the box office worldwide during the current weekend, according to estimates.

"Zootopia 2," Disney's feel-good animated film and an Oscar contender, rose to number 2 from 5 in the rankings, bringing in $20 million, according to weekend estimates.

"Marty Supreme," a period sports drama starring Timothee Chalamet, soared to third place in the rankings from the number 10 spot the previous week, bringing in $17.5 million, weekend estimates showed.

"This is an excellent opening for a sports drama," according to David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

"Critics' reviews are sensational, with an excellent audience score (a B+ CinemaScore). The film is going to get a lift from holiday moviegoing this week -- all of the releases are going to benefit now," he said.

Dropping one notch to fourth place was "The Housemaid," a thriller from Lionsgate films starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, which earned $15.4 million, according to estimates.

"Anaconda," the new comedy action movie starring Paul Rudd and Jack Black, placed fifth in the rankings after making its debut. Distributed by Sony, the film brought in $14.5 million, according to estimates.

"This is a solid opening for a horror remake. The three-day figure is roughly average for the genre, and it's a bit better start than the previous 'Anaconda' opening in 2004," Gross said.

Rounding out the top 10 are:

"David" ($12.6 million)

"The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants" ($11.2 million)

"Song Sung Blue" ($7.6 million)

"Wicked: For Good" ($5.2 million)

"Five Nights at Freddy's 2" ($4.4 million)

C.Mak--ThChM