‘Way of Water’ finally yields to horror flick in theaters

LOS ANGELES

“Avatar: The Way of Water” finally made room this weekend for a new leader in North American theaters, “Knock at the Cabin,” the latest from horror film master M. Night Shyamalan.

Universal’s “Knock” took in an estimated $14.2 million for the Friday-through-Saturday period - not bad for a movie that cost a reported $20 million to make - industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported on Feb. 5.

The creepy thriller stars Jonathan Groff and Ben Aldridge as a couple whose vacation trip, with two young children, to a remote cabin is disturbed when a mystery man played by Dave Bautista comes to the door to warn of an impending apocalypse unless they make a most painful sacrifice.

Another new movie, Paramount’s “80 for Brady,” also slipped in ahead of the “Avatar” sequel, taking in $12.5 million, in what was seen as a sign that older audiences are beginning to return to theaters.

It stars a not-so-young group of friends, Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno and Sally Field, Hollywood icons all, as they travel to watch famed (and just recently retired) NFL quarterback Tom Brady play in the 2017 Super Bowl.

Ending its seven-week box office domination, “Avatar: The Way of Water” from Disney and 20th Century took in $10.8 million to place third. The sci-fi animation has now amassed $636.4 million in domestic ticket sales, for a global total of $2.17 billion.

In fourth place, down two spots from last weekend, was Universal’s family-friendly “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” at $8 million.

And in fifth was “BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas,” at $6.2 million. From Trafalgar Releasing, it offers fans of the popular South Korean boy band a chance to see clips from a 2022 concert filmed before the band members took a hiatus for their mandatory military service.