24 September 2018
Newsdesk
Cate Blanchett's The House With a Clock in Its Walls has spooked its way to the top of the North American box office.
The dark fantasy comedy, based on author John Bellairs' 1973 children's book of the same name, surpassed experts' estimations to open with a healthy $26.9 million (£20.6 million) during a quiet week of releases.
The movie, directed by Eli Roth, follows the adventures of a young orphan boy who discovers his uncle's old house is haunted by the ghost of the sinister original owner, intent on bringing about the end of the world with a specially-designed Doomsday clock.
Jack Black portrays the uncle, who happens to be a warlock, while Oscar winner Cate plays his next door neighbour, a powerful good witch.
Their star power helped the gothic fantasy conjure up a number one debut, easily overshadowing Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick's quirky thriller A Simple Favor, which draws $10.4 million (£7.95 million) in its second weekend on release.
Supernatural horror The Nun comes in just behind at three, while last week's top film, The Predator, falls to four and Crazy Rich Asians rounds out the new top five.
The House With a Clock in Its Walls was the only new wide release to perform particularly well - Michael Moore's Donald Trump-themed documentary Fahrenheit 11/9 fell short of its lowest expectations of $5 million (£3.8 million) with a $3.1 million (£2.4 million) launch, while Dan Fogelman's Life Itself flopped with $2.1 million (£1.6 million), despite boasting Olivia Wilde, Oscar Isaac, and Antonio Banderas among its castmembers.
Thriller Assassination Nation also failed to excite film fans, taking just $1 million (£764,500).
Meanwhile, The Nun continues to keep audiences on the edge of its seat in the global box office, adding another $45.65 million (£34.9 million) to keep the number one spot, taking its worldwide total to just shy of $300 million (£229.4 million).
