‘Candyman’ hooks top spot at US box office, ‘Free Guy’ rules UAE
Horror film starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is giving Ryan Reynolds a run for his money
‘Candyman’ hooked the top spot at the North American box office, even as the slasher film landed in fourth spot in the UAE based on admissions.
The Universal Pictures film starring Yahya Abdul-Mateen II impressively pulled in more than $22.3 million through a quiet weekend despite concerns over the delta variant. The R-rated horror movie, co-written by Jordan Peele and directed by Nia DaCosta, delves into an urban legend that believes if someone repeats ‘Candyman’ five times in front of a mirror, that person would summon the hook-handed killer.
The sequel is a follow up to the original ‘Candyman’ in 1992. The new film expects to gross $5.23 million in 51 international markets, with the three-day weekend admissions in the UAE crossing 10,000.
‘Free Guy’, which scored first place at the box office in the US the previous two weekends, landed second. However, in the UAE, the action comedy starring Ryan Reynolds as a background character in a video game, continues to take the first spot with 134,502 total admissions three weeks into release.
In the UAE, Bollywood movie ‘BellBottom’ continued to score in its second week, taking second place with 44,369 total admissions. The Akshay Kumar spy thriller also features Dubai in the film.
In third place in the UAE and the US ‘PAW Patrol’ reigned. The film reeled in $6.6 million in the US — a 50 per cent dip from the film’s opening weekend number. The Paramount film, based on the popular kids TV show, has garnered more than $24 million while its UAE total admissions racked up 38,878.
‘Jungle Cruise’ placed fourth with $5 million, helping the Disney action-adventure film starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt eclipse the $100 million mark in North America during a five-week span.
The film, however, was pushed to fifth place here in the UAE, with the Bollywood film ‘Chehre’ taking in the fourth position. The thriller, which stars Emraan Hashmi and Amitabh Bachhcan, has largely been panned by critics.