‘Hotel Transylvania 3’ checks in at No. 1

LOS ANGELES — It turns out Dwayne Johnson was no match for Dracula and company.

“Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” topped the domestic box office charts with $44.1 million from 4,267 locations, while Dwayne Johnson’s “Skyscraper” washed up with a paltry $25.5 from 3,782 theatres.

Sony’s animated family feature picked up $46.4 million overseas this weekend for a global start of $100 million, including Amazon Prime showings. The third instalment of the franchise — featuring the voices of Adam Sandler, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg and Kathryn Hahn — carried an $80 million production budget.

“We’re thrilled,” Sony’s president of worldwide distribution Josh Greenstein said. “We took the No. 1 slot this weekend with a tremendous amount of competition.”

As the first film in the series debuting during summer (its predecessors opened in September), Greenstein said the studio hopes “Hotel Transylvania 3” will benefit in coming weeks from kids being out of school.

The opening for “Hotel Transylvania 3” represents the second-best for the franchise. The first film, 2012’s “Hotel Transylvania”, bowed with $42 million, while the sequel started with $48 million.

“Skyscraper’s” debut was not enough to secure the No. 2 slot, which went to the second weekend of Marvel’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp” with $29.5 million from 4,206 locations. The superhero sequel picked up another $35.3 million internationally, taking its global total to $284 million. Domestically, the Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly-led tentpole earned $133 million, while overseas it has made $151 million.

Universal and Legendary’s “Skyscraper” checked in third place, coming in way under projections. With $25 million, “Skyscraper” represents the lowest opening for a Johnson-starrer in recent years. The studio is banking on his massive international following to justify the film’s pricey $125 million budget. It bows in China, where the action film is set, next weekend.

Universal’s head of domestic distribution Jim Orr emphasised “Skyscraper’s” reliance on overseas markets.

“The domestic results are part of a broader global play,” Orr said. “I think we’re going to have a great run. It’s not all about opening weekend.”

“Incredibles 2” landed in fourth place with $16 million in its fifth weekend, while “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” rounded out the top five with $15.5 million in its fourth frame. However, that order could fluctuate when final numbers are tallied on Monday.

Disney-Pixar’s “Incredibles 2” is now the ninth-highest domestic release of all time with $535.8 million. The animated family film has amassed $856.9 million worldwide, including $321 million from overseas markets.

At the specialty box office, A24’s “Eighth Grade” generated the best per-screen-average of the year with $63,071. Bo Burnham wrote and directed the critically lauded feature, which made $255,000 when it opened on four screens. The coming-of-age film stars Elsie Fisher navigating her last week of middle school.

Meanwhile, Annapurna’s “Sorry to Bother You” nabbed seventh place at the domestic box office. Boots Riley’s satirical comedy pocketed $4.3 million when it expanded to 805 theatres. In total, it has earned $5.3 million.

Gus Van Sant’s “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot” premiered in four theatres with $83,120. Joaquin Phoenix stars in the Amazon Studios comedy, which earned $20,780 per theatre.

The summer of theatrical documentaries is still in full swing, as “Won’t You Be My Neighbour” earned $1.8 million in its sixth weekend. Morgan Neville’s film centring on Mister Rogers has grossed $15.8 million, making it the highest grossing documentary of the year, as well as the 16th-highest earning of all time.

Roadside Attractions and Miramax’s “Whitney” pulled in another $535,385 from 208 screens. The Whitney Houston documentary has made $2.6 million to date.