'Furious' leaves competition in dust at N. America box office
Fourth place went to "Born in China"
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - "The Fate of the Furious" ran at full throttle for a second weekend, raking in $38.7 million to head North American box-office profits with a total of $163.6, industry analysts estimated on Sunday.
Although the eighth installment in Universal Studio s "Fast and Furious" series -- starring megastars Vin Diesel and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson -- shattered records during its opening last weekend with global revenues of more than a half-billion dollars, its North American take so far has come in below that of "Furious 7," which earned $250 million over its first two weekends.
The latest film, directed by F. Gary Gray of "Straight Outta Compton" fame, also features Charlize Theron, Tyrese Gibson and hip-hop star Ludacris.
In it, Diesel s Dom Toretto character is coerced to join forces with a cyberterrorist played by Theron, who turns him against his team.
In second place, the DreamWorks animation "The Boss Baby" took in $12.8 million, Exhibitor Relations reported.
The tale of rivalry between babies and puppies has earned a four-week total of $137 million. Alec Baldwin voices the tie-wearing chief baby in the production, distributed by Fox.
Third-place "Beauty and the Beast" continued to draw viewers to North American theaters this weekend, earning $10 million in its sixth week.
The Disney blockbuster, starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, has taken in $471 million domestically so far while pushing past $1 billion internationally.
Fourth place went to "Born in China," a Disney animal documentary, which debuted with $5.1 million. The co-production between Disneynature and Shanghai Media Group offers a rare glimpse of pandas, snow leopards and other creatures of the country s vast animal kingdom.
"Going in Style" held fifth place. The Warner Bros. comedy, starring Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin and Michael Caine as aging bank robbers, had weekend sales of $5 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
"Smurfs: The Lost Village" ($4.9 million)
"Unforgettable" ($4.8 million)
"Gifted" ($4.5 million)
"The Promise" ($4 million)
"The Lost City of Z" ($2 million)
