'Ben-Hur' a box office bust as 'Suicide Squad' wins again
Suicide Squad tops the box office once again, claiming its third #1 weekend since opening three weeks ago.
The anti-superhero blockbuster from Warner Bros. about DC Comics villains earned an estimated $20.7 million. Even allowing for final tallies to change, that's far ahead of the $15.3 million estimate for Sausage Party at #2.
The continuing success for Suicide -- which is now at $262.3 million domestically and more than $500 million worldwide -- means Warner Bros. gets at least another week before questions about the future of DC Films resurface.
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War Dogs, a new Todd Phillips comedy starring Jonah Hill and Miles Teller, rounds out the top three with an estimated $14.3 million.
Two R-rated comedies and a dark spin on an anti-hero story. Quite a statement on the late-summer moviegoing habits of U.S. audiences.
The weekend's other two newcomers fall just behind War Dogs, with Laika Entertainment's Kubo and the Two Strings at #4 with an estimated $12.6 million. Kubo isn't the kind of movie that opens to blockbuster numbers, but an astonishingly positive response from critics should help carry it.
Paramount's Ben-Hur, on the other hand, is meant to benefit from a blockbuster push, but alas, the audience isn't there. It's a #5 finish for the latest from director and staging wiz Timur Bekmambetov (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter), with a disappointing $11.4 million estimate for the $100 million-budgeted film.
Time will tell. Ben-Hur is out in a number of overseas markets already, but many more openings -- including in key locations in Europe -- are happening in September. Regardless, it's not a great start for the historical epic led by Jack Huston and Morgan Freeman.
Topics Film
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
