“THE Woman King,” an epic about an all-female army of African warriors, easily topped the North American box office this weekend with an estimated take of US$19 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported yesterday.  

The new Sony release, loosely based on a true historical episode, stars Oscar-winner Viola Davis as the fierce general who leads an army known as the Agojie as it protects the 18th-century kingdom of Dahomey.   

Days earlier, Davis told AFP that she felt “conflicted” because if the black-led, woman-dominated film fell short, it would unfairly damage the prospects for future such endeavors.  

Instead, boosted by a favorable critical reception—“Reviews are sensational,” said the FranchiseRe website—it exceeded analysts’ expectations, more than tripling the ticket sales of the next-highest finisher, 20th Century’s “Barbarian.”  

That horror film tells the story of a woman (Georgina Campbell) who checks into an AirBnB rental in a sketchy Detroit neighborhood only to find it has also been booked by an oh-so-creepy Bill Skarsgard. “Barbarian” took in US$6.3 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period.  

In third place was a slasher film, “Pearl,” a new low-budget release from A24, with ticket sales just over US$3.1 million. Mia Goth stars in a blood-soaked tale that involves the brutal use of both an axe and a pitchfork, on animals and humans. Enough said.  

Searchlight’s comic mystery “See How They Run” placed fourth in its opening weekend, at US$3.1 million.  

Sam Rockwell stars as an often-inebriated Scotland Yard detective, Saoirse Ronan as his eager but hapless assistant, and Adrien Brody as a sleazy Hollywood director in London to make a film version of Agatha Christie classic “The Mousetrap”—until fate intervenes.   

And in fifth place was Sony action thriller “Bullet Train,” starring Brad Pitt, at US$2.5 million 

Rounding out the top 10 were: 

“Top Gun: Maverick” (US$2.2 million) 

“DC League of Super-Pets” (US$2.2 million) 

“The Invitation” (US$1.7 million) 

“Minions: The Rise of Gru” (US$1.3 million) 

“Moonage Daydream” (US$1.2 million) 

– AFP, September 19, 2022.