‘Angel Has Fallen’ tops box office; ‘Overcomer’ is solid

LOS ANGELES — Performing above expectations, Lionsgate and Millennium’s “Angel Has Fallen” opened in first place with $21.3 million, according to measurement firm Comscore.

The third film in the action franchise, it stars Gerard Butler as a Secret Service agent who is falsely accused of attempting to assassinate the US president, played by Morgan Freeman. It was directed by Rick Roman Waugh and also stars Jada Pinkett Smith, Piper Perabo and Nick Nolte.

Analysts anticipated it would earn $13 million to $15 million, less than previous series installments “London Has Fallen” ($21.6 million opening in 2016) and “Olympus Has Fallen” ($30.4 million debut in 2013). The movie received a mixed reception, with an A-minus CinemaScore but a 40 per cent “rotten” rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

At No. 2, Universal’s “Good Boys” added $11.8 million in its second weekend.

At No. 3, Sony and Affirm’s “Overcomer” opened with $8.2 million. Written and directed by and starring Alex Kendrick, the movie is about a coach whose faith is tested as he mentors a troubled teen. Audiences approved with an A-plus CinemaScore, but critics responded with a 33 per cent “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

At No. 4, Disney’s “The Lion King” added $8.2 million. Rounding out the top five, Universal’s “Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw” added $8.1 million.

Fox Searchlight’s “Ready or Not” opened at No. 6, taking in $7.6 million over the weekend and $10.6 million since its debut on Wednesday.

At No. 7, Sony’s “The Angry Birds Movie 2” added $6.4 million in its second weekend. In eighth place, Lionsgate’s “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark” added $6 million in its third weekend. At No. 9, Paramount’s “Dora and the Lost City of Gold” added $5.2 million. Rounding out the top 10, Sony’s “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” added $5 million in its fifth weekend.

Among indie releases, Amazon Studios’ “Brittany Runs a Marathon” picked up $175,969 from five theatres, averaging $35,194 per location. Paul Downs Colaizzo directed from his own script. In the crowd-pleasing comedy, Jillian Bell portrays an overweight woman who signs up for a lengthy race to get her life on track. The studio is slowly expanding the movie and expects to take it nationwide after four or five weeks. Amazon bought the movie for $14 million at Sundance.

“This weekend is a great start, and we are feeling very positive going into next weekend and the weeks to follow,” said Julie Rapaport, co-head of movies at Amazon Studios. “Audiences have laughed, cried and connected with Brittany’s inspirational story — and we’re confident the positive word-of-mouth will organically grow and reach theatre-goers. We’re in it for the long run and excited as more audiences discover the film.”