Gerard Butler might have put himself through the wringer to make Angel Has Fallen (you can hear him talk about it on this week's Empire Podcast) but the effort has been worth it as the third entry in the "Has Fallen" series landed top of the heap at the Stateside box office this weekend. The action film made $21.2 million, according to studio estimates.
That's roughly in line with 2016's London Has Fallen, though neither have scaled the heights of the original, Olympus Has Fallen. Still, it's evidence that people will still turn out for sequels, even if in this case, the reviews were more on the negative side.
Good Boys fell to second place, but added $11.7 million for a $42 million domestic total to date. Third place was a surprise victory for a newcomer, faith-based drama sports drama Overcomer, which made $8.2 million in its opening weekend. The Lion King dropped once place to fourth with $8.15 million, while Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw was down to fifth and $8.14 million. The big budget action film is speeding towards $600 million worldwide thanks to a big $150 million launch in China.
Horror thriller comedy Ready Or Not didn't see quite the success of the other new arrivals, landing in sixth with $7.5 million. Positive word of mouth could help it have a healthy run, and given its low $6 million budget, it doesn't have to make as much to turn a profit. Still, it's got to be seen as a slight disappointment. The Angry Birds Movie 2 slipped to seventh on $6.3 million, ahead of Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark, which took home $6 million in eighth. Ninth was Dora And The Lost City Of Gold with $5.2 million, while Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood made $5 million at 10th.