'Furious 7' surges past the Sh93 billion mark
Actor Vin Diesel as he attends the premiere of 'Furious 7' held at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, California. "Furious 7" easily outpaced the competition to claim the top North American box office spot for a third straight week. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- Slapstick comedy "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2" starring debuted in the second spot, and stars Kevin James as the hapless, scooter-driving security guard.
- Another newcomer, "Unfriended," took third on the charts, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.
- Animated children's film "Home," about an unpopular space alien forced to flee his own kind, earned the fourth spot on the chart.
LOS ANGELES
"Furious 7" surged ahead of its North American box office competition for a third straight week, taking in an estimated Sh2.7billion ($29 million) to hit Sh93 billion ($1 billion) in worldwide ticket sales.
The strong weekend showing gives the car racing action flick a Sh27 billion ($294 million) haul in the US and Canada since its release and giving the movie certifiable blockbuster status.
The franchise of all seven "Fast and Furious" films has brought in a record-breaking Sh310 billion ($3.39 billion), NBCUniversal said.
Slapstick comedy "Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2" starring debuted in the second spot with $24 million in estimated sales, and stars Kevin James as the hapless, scooter-driving security guard.
Another newcomer, "Unfriended," took third on the charts with $16 million in sales, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.
The social media horror flick starring Heather Sossaman finds a chat room of friends haunted by an online account of a dead friend.
CHART TOPPING FLICKS
Animated children's film "Home," about an unpopular space alien forced to flee his own kind, earned the fourth spot on the chart with $10.3 million in estimated sales.
The film, featuring the voices of celebrities Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez, has brought in $142.6 million overall.
In its second week, romance novel adaptation "The Longest Ride," brought in $6.85 million for the fifth spot following its third place debut. The movie stars Scott Eastwood, the son of actor-director Clint Eastwood.
The Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart buddy comedy "Get Hard" about a prison-bound investment banker and car washer took in $4.8 million for the sixth spot on the chart.
New nature documentary "Monkey Kingdom," narrated by actress Tina Fey, made its debut in the seventh box office spot with $4.7 million in sales.
The film follows a newborn and mother toque macaque in the wilds of Sri Lanka.
In eight place with $4.6 million was "Woman in Gold," the true story of an elderly Holocaust survivor trying to get back her Nazi-looted artwork from Austria.
Action-packed "Insurgent," the second film based on Veronica Roth's best-selling "Divergent" book series, came in ninth place, adding $4.1 million for $120.6 million after five weeks on the charts.
The live-action reboot of "Cinderella" took 10th place, with $3.9 million in estimated ticket sales.
The Disney film has been on the charts for six weeks, bringing in a total of $186.3 million.
