Evil Dead Rise has solid $23.5M debut, but Super Mario Bros. refuses to relinquish the top spot
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The fifth installment in the Evil Dead franchise is alive and kicking at this weekend's box office, making a solid debut with $23.5 million to claim second place, according to Comscore.
Evil Dead Rise, directed by Lee Cronin, doesn't feature franchise stalwart Bruce Campbell, but he and the director and producer of the original trilogy, Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert, gave the film their seals of approval.
Warner Bros. Pictures Lily Sullivan in 'Evil Dead Rise'
Moving the action out of the woods and into the city, Evil Dead Rise tells a twisted tale of two estranged sisters (Lily Sutherland and Alyssa Sullivan), whose reunion is cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.
"It's just a relief that they [said], 'Hey, we really like the movie,'" Cronin said of Raimi, Campbell, and Tapert. "I did get to watch it at test screenings with Sam as well, which was great. I will say it's a real pleasure to see Sam watch something you do, and it makes him laugh or scream. That's a real joy."
Nintendo; Illumination Entertainment/ Universal Pictures
With an additional $16.8 million from international markets, the film earned a total of $40.3 million worldwide. While Evil Dead Rise rose to No. 2, it was kept from the top spot by The Super Mario Bros. Movie, now in its third week of release.
With $58.2 million this weekend, Super Mario Bros. brings its domestic total to a Princess Peach-y $434.3 million, and its worldwide gross to a Bowser-wowser $871.8 million.
In a distant third, Guy Ritchie's The Covenant starring Jake Gyllenhaal debuted with $6.3 million.
Everett Collection Dar Salim and Jake Gyllenhaal in 'The Covenant'
The Covenant follows US Army Sergeant John Kinley (Gyllenhaal) and Afghan interpreter Ahmed (Dar Salim). After an ambush, Ahmed goes to Herculean lengths to save Kinley's life. When Kinley learns that Ahmed and his family were not given safe passage to America as promised, he must repay his debt by returning to the war zone to retrieve them before the Taliban hunts them down first.
"It was a painful process of trying to find the appropriate actors that, A, understand the work and, B, are up for that work," Ritchie recently told EW. "I've been following Jakes's career for 20 years or so. I've been very keen to work with him and this seemed like the perfect opportunity for us to collaborate. Dar has an intelligent humanity about him, and he also radiates charisma, so there's a conspiracy of characteristics that move within Dar to make him the perfect guy for that role."
Rounding out the top 5 this weekend are John Wick: Chapter 4, bringing in another $5.8 million for a five-week total of $168.9 million domestically, $375.1 million worldwide; and Ben Affleck's Air, earning $5.5 million in its third week of release, for a domestic gross of $41.3 million ($68.4 million worldwide).
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