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'Amsterdam' and 'Lyle Lyle' struggle, letting 'Smile' repeat

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Ā© 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

This image released by 20th Century Studios shows, from left, John David Washington, Christian Bale and Margot Robbie in a scene from "Amsterdam." (Merie Weismiller Wallace/20th Century Studios via AP)

NEW YORK ā€“ David O. Russell's star-studded 1930s mystery ā€œAmsterdam" flopped and the children's book adaptation ā€œLyle, Lyle, Crocodileā€ debuted softly, allowing the horror thriller ā€œSmileā€ to repeat atop the box office in U.S. and Canada theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Neither new release caught fire with moviegoers but the disappointment was most acute for ā€œAmsterdam,ā€ a poorly reviewed $80 million screwball romp starring Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington. The 20th Century Studios production, co-funded by New Regency and released by the Walt Disney Co., opened with just $6.5 million ā€” a stinging rebuke for the decorated filmmaker of ā€œSilver Linings Playbookā€ whose splashy ensemble also includes Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy and Taylor Swift.

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Sony Pictures' ā€œLyle, Lyle, Crocodile,ā€ a musical based on Bernard Waber's children's book featuring Shawn Mendes as the voice of a computer-generated reptile, fared better, collecting $11.5 million in ticket sales. But that still was a relatively modest result, especially for the first major family movie to land in theaters since the summer. The film, which cost $50 million to make, could benefit from children being out of school for Monday's Columbus Day and little kid-movie competition this month.

A week after topping the charts with a $22-million launch, Paramount Pictures' ā€œSmileā€ remained No. 1 with $17.6 million at the box office ā€” an impressive second week for the modestly budget horror flick. Horror films usually fall steeply in their second week of release but ā€œSmile,ā€ a creepy thriller about trauma and evil spirits, dropped just 22%. To keep the momentum, Paramount on Sunday announced a weeklong series of promotions, including discounted tickets and a ā€œSmileā€ NFT giveaway for some ticket-buyers on Thursday.

The best news for Hollywood over the weekend was a sign that adult audiences, after two pandemic-plagued seasons, may be eager to come out for the fall's top awards contenders. Todd Field's ā€œTĆ”r," starring Cate Blanchett as a world-renown conductor, debuted with $160,000 in four New York and Los Angeles theaters, good for a stellar $40,000 per-theater average. After its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, Field's first film since 2006's ā€œLittle Children" has drawn raves from critics and Oscar nomination predictions for Blanchett.

The promising start will encourage a long line of awards contenders coming in the next few weeks, including MGM's Emmett Till drama ā€œTill," MUBI's Park Chan-wook thriller ā€œDecision to Leaveā€ and Searchlight Pictures' ā€œThe Banshees of Inisherin," by writer-director Martin McDonagh.

At the same time, a prolonged sluggish period in theaters may be coming to a close. Not since ā€œBullet Trainā€ opened in early August has a film cleared $23 million, a downturn owed in part to a light release schedule. But next week, Universal Pictures debuts ā€œHalloween Endsā€ both in theaters and on Peacock. The following weekend sees the release of Warner Bros.' ā€œBlack Adam,ā€ with Dwayne Johnson.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Smile," $17.6 million.

2. ā€œLyle, Lyle, Crocodile,ā€ $11.5 million.

3. ā€œAmsterdam," $6.5 million.

4. ā€œThe Woman King,ā€ $5.3 million.

5. ā€œDon't Worry Darling,ā€ $3.5 million.

6. ā€œAvatar,ā€ $2.6 million.

7. ā€œBarbarian,ā€ $2.2 million.

8. ā€œBros,ā€ $2.2 million.

9. ā€œPonniyin Selvan Part One," $910,000.

10. ā€œTerrifier 2,ā€ $825,000.

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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP


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