LOS ANGELES -- It鈥檚 a three-peat for 鈥淏eetlejuice Beetlejuice.鈥�
The Tim Burton legacy sequel to his 1988 horror comedy topped the North American box office charts for the third straight weekend with US$26 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
It edged out the animated new release 鈥淭ransformers: One,鈥� which brought in US$25 million. The Optimus Prime origin story from Paramount Pictures features the voices of Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry and Scarlett Johansson.
鈥淏eetlejuice Beetlejuice,鈥� a Warner Bros. release with Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder returning as stars, has earned more than US$226 million domestically in its three weeks after a monster opening of $110 million 鈥� the third best of the year 鈥� and a second weekend of US$51.6 million.
Third place went to the James McAvoy horror 鈥淪peak No Evil,鈥� which came in at US$5.9 million in its second week for a total of US$21.5 million.
On the whole, the box office was in a quiet phase that is expected to break when 鈥� Joker: Folie à Deux 鈥� dances its way onto the big screen on Oct. 4.
The year鈥檚 second-highest grosser 鈥� Deadpool & Wolverine 鈥� remained in the top 5 in its ninth weekend with another US$3.9 million and a domestic total of US$627 million. Only Pixar's 鈥淚nside Out 2鈥� has earned more.
The Demi Moore-starring, Coralie Fargeat-directed body horror 鈥淭he Substance," which made a splash at the Cannes Film Festival, brought in US$3.1 million on limited screens in its first weekend for the sixth spot.
The Daily Wire movie 鈥淎m I Racist?鈥� 鈥� in which conservative columnist Matt Walsh goes undercover as a 鈥淒EI trainee鈥� 鈥� stayed in the top 10 after a fourth place finish last week, earning US$2.9 million for seventh place and a two-week total of US$9 million.
