Don’t Worry Darling” tops the North American box office this weekend

• “Don’t Worry Darling” earned an estimated $19.2 million over the weekend.
• Sony’s “The Woman King” had ticket sales of $11.1 million.
• James Cameron’s re-release of his smash blockbuster “Avatar” came in third.

Olivia Wilde didn’t have to worry after all, despite the commotion. According to industry analyst Exhibitor Relations, the actor/latest director’s movie “Don’t Worry Darling” earned an estimated $19.2 million over the course of the weekend in North America.

Uncertainty surrounded the impact of mixed reviews and rumours of cast friction off-screen, notably that between the director and Florence Pugh, on ticket sales.

Nevertheless, according to analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research, the Warner Bros. movie had “a very good start, above average for an original romantic mystery.”

Sony’s “The Woman King,” which came in first place over the past weekend, had ticket sales of $11.1 million but witnessed a 42 percent decline from its opening weekend. The history-based drama of an all-female army of African warriors starring Oscar winner Viola Davis.

James Cameron’s re-release of his smash blockbuster “Avatar” came in third. For the weekend of Friday through Sunday, the 20th Century feature brought in an estimated $10 million, the majority of it on large Imax screens.

Gross called that only a “decent” start, but he pointed out that the movie had a sluggish start in 2009 before breaking all previous records with $2.8 billion in worldwide ticket sales.

The studio is hoping that the re-release would generate enough interest to counteract the highly anticipated sequel “Avatar: The Way of Waterenormous “‘s $250 million budget, which is planned to premiere in December.

“Barbarian,” another movie from the 20th Century, came in fourth place with $4.8 million. Bill Skarsgard and Georgina Campbell are the movie’s stars.

The bloody horror movie “Pearl” from A24 came in at number five with $1.9 million. Starring Mia Goth.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

“See How They Run” ($1.9 million)

“Bullet Train” ($1.8 million)

“DC League of Super-Pets” ($1.8 million)

“Top Gun: Maverick” ($1.6 million)

“Minions: The Rise of Gru” ($1 million)..AFP

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