‘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.