"Tom and Jerry" tops North American box office in opening weekend

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Warner Bros.' animated film "Tom and Jerry" led ticket sales at the North American box office with an estimated 13.71 million U.S. dollars from 2,475 theaters between Friday and Sunday in its opening weekend, according to studio figures collected by measurement firm Comscore.

The film had the highest opening of any film released in North America this year so far. It is also the second largest North American opening since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, only behind Warner Bros.' superheroine film "Wonder Woman 1984," which took in 16.7 million dollars in the opening weekend last December.

Directed by Tim Story, the film based on the iconic cartoon characters is an eye-popping blend of classic animation and live action. The cat and mouse battle flares up again when Jerry moves into New York City's finest hotel on the eve of "the wedding of the century," forcing the event's desperate planner to hire Tom to get rid of him.

"Tom and Jerry" has scored an estimated 25.1 million dollars in overseas markets, bringing its global tally to 38.8 million dollars.

The Chinese mainland has fueled half of the film's overseas box office with more than 80 million yuan (about 12.35 million U.S. dollars) after three days of launch, according to the box office data compiled by Maoyan, a Chinese movie-ticketing and film data platform.

In a distant second place, another animated family film, Universal and DreamWorks' "The Croods: A New Age" brought in 1.21 million dollars from 1,912 locations in its 14th weekend. The film has grossed 52.38 million dollars in North America for a worldwide cume of 156.11 million dollars, including more than 54 million dollars from the Chinese mainland.

Helmed by Joel Crawford in his feature directorial debut, "The Croods: A New Age," with a reported budget of 65 million dollars, features the voice talent of returning stars, including Nicolas Cage, Catherine Keener, Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds.

The sequel to the 2013 original film follows the prehistoric Crood family who sets off into the world in search of a safer place to live and meets another family that's a couple of steps above the Croods on the evolutionary ladder.

Warner Bros. Pictures' psychological thriller "The Little Things" came in third with 925,000 dollars from 1,853 locations in its fifth weekend, pushing its North American cume to 12.9 million dollars.

Directed by John Lee Hancock from his own original screenplay, the film has a strong cast, including Academy Award winners Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto. The plot follows two U.S. police officers as they try to catch a serial killer that has residents of Los Angeles terrified.

"Wonder Woman 1984" landed in the fourth place with 710,000 dollars from 1,534 locations in its 10th weekend. The film has grossed 43.62 million dollars in North America for a global total of 161 million dollars.

The film is a sequel to "Wonder Woman," a massive critical and commercial hit in 2017, which grossed 822 million dollars at the global box office. With director Patty Jenkins back at the helm and Gal Gadot returning in the title role, "Wonder Woman 1984" with a reported cost of 200 million dollars follows Diana Prince as she battles two formidable foes during the Cold War.

Open Road's action thriller film "The Marksman" finished fifth with 700,000 dollars from 1,414 locations in its seventh weekend for a North American total of 12.34 million dollars.

Directed by Robert Lorenz and starring Liam Neeson, the film follows a hardened U.S. rancher living in an Arizona border town who helps an 11-year-old boy escape a Mexican drug cartel.