Viola Davis listens to director Gina Prince-Bythewood on the set of “The Woman King,” which opened in the No. 1 spot at last weekend’s box office.
The box office slump saw some relief last weekend, thanks in part to the success of “The Woman King.”
The West Africa historical epic starring Viola Davis opened in the No. 1 spot with a $19 million gross that exceeded expectations.
The horror movie “Barbarian” fell to second place with a $6.3 million during the year’s fourth worst weekend.
Movie theater attendance in general has fallen, with many people watching first-run films at home on their streaming services. Casualties have included the West Wind Drive-In in Goleta, which recently closed permanently, on the heels of this year’s earlier closure of the Hi-Way Drive-In Theater in Santa Maria. In Ventura, Regency Buenaventura 6, a longtime discount movie theater, now only shows movies on Fridays through Sundays and Tuesdays.
But some movies are drawing people into theaters, such as the horror film “Pearl,” which opened in the No. 3 spot last weekend with $3.12 million.
Also opening was the murder mystery/comedy “See How They Run,” in fourth place with $3.1 million.
“Bullet Train,” the action comedy starring Brad Pitt, fell to fifth place with $2.5 million.
“Top Gun: Maverick,” this year’s highest-grossing film, placed sixth with $2.18 million.
“DC League of Super-Pets” landed in seventh place with $2.175 million.
The horror movie “Invitation” placed eighth with $1.7 million.
“Minions: The Rise of Gru,” the latest movie in the animated movie franchise, was ninth with $1.32 million.
Opening in 10th place was a movie about rock legend David Bowie — “Moonage Daydream,” which grossed $1.23 million.
email: dmason@newspress.com
