‘Bad Guys’ finish first in US box office

‘Bad Guys’ finish first in US box office

LOS ANGELES

Three new releases helped fuel the North American box office this weekend, with Universal’s animated action-comedy “The Bad Guys” on top with an estimated $24 million take, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported on April 24.

“Bad Guys,” a sort of animal-eye version of “Oceans 11,” follows the exploits of a wickedly clever gang of creatures. Produced by DreamWorks Animation, the film has a voice cast including Sam Rockwell, Craig Robinson, Awkwafina, Marc Ramon, Anthony Ramos and Lilly Singh.

Overall, this was a good weekend for family-geared films, with Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” again placing second, at $15.2 million.

Third spot went to “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” from Warner Bros., at $14 million, a fairly sharp drop from last weekend’s $43 million opening for the Wizarding World film.

New releases claimed the next two spots. “The Northman” from Focus Features took in $12 million. It tells the blood-soaked story of a Viking (played by Alexander Skarsgard) who seeks revenge on the man who killed his parents and usurped his father’s throne.

Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke, Bjork, Anya Taylor-Joy and Willem Dafoe round out the ensemble cast.

And in fifth was Lionsgate’s very meta film “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” at $7.2 million.