Basketball player/actor LeBron James arrives at the Warner Bros Pictures world premiere of “Space Jam: A New Legacy” at the Regal LA Live in Los Angeles, California, July 12, 2021. (AFP)
LOS ANGELES – New Warner Bros. release “Space Jam: A New Legacy” rocketed to the top of the North American box office over the weekend, taking in an estimated $31.6 million in the best showing of a family film since Covid first hammered the industry.
The live action/animated movie — a sequel nearly 25 years after the original “Space Jam” with Michael Jordan — has NBA superstar LeBron James teaming up with Bugs Bunny and other Looney Tunes characters in a high-stakes basketball game against a rogue artificial-intelligence entity threatening his son.
The film’s surprise showing, despite middling-to-terrible reviews — the New York Post called it an “abomination” — propelled it past last weekend’s leader, Disney superhero film “Black Widow.”
That Marvel Studios production, starring Scarlett Johansson, took in $25.6 million in the Friday-through-Sunday period, down sharply from its $80.4 million opening, according to industry watcher Exhibitor Relations.
In third place was Sony’s psychological thriller “Escape Room: Tournament of Champions,” at $8.8 million. Taylor Russell and Logan Miller, reprising their roles in 2019’s “Escape Room,” face a series of deadly traps and puzzles set by the evil Minos.
Fourth place went to Universal’s “F9: The Fast Saga,” at $7.6 million, bringing the four-week domestic total of the Vin Diesel/John Cena action thriller to $154 million.
And in fifth was Universal’s animated “Boss Baby: Family Business,” at $4.7 million.
Meantime, “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain” — the Focus Features/CNN Films movie about the world-traveling chef — had the best opening of a documentary this year, at $1.9 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
“The Forever Purge” ($4.2 million)
“A Quiet Place: Part II” ($2.3 million)
“Roadrunner” ($1.9 million)
“Cruella” ($1.1 million)
“Pig” ($945,000)