"The Hitman's Bodyguard" won the weekend box office but it did not take much to do it, pulling in $21.6 million.
The action-comedy, which stars A-listers Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds, opened in 3,377 theaters and actually did better than tracking projections that had the movie making in the high teens, according to The Wrap. It also did better than similar movies this summer — "Atomic Blonde" ($18.3 million) and "The Dark Tower" ($19.5 million).
"'The Hitman's Bodyguard' is generating great word of mouth among moviegoers," David Spitz, Lionsgate's distribution president, told Variety. "It has a clear runway in the weeks ahead, and we expect it to play well right into September."
Hollywood's other new entry, "Logan Lucky," did not fare so well. The heist comedy, set in the backdrop of NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600 race, sputtered in at $8.1 million at 3,031 theaters.
"Logan Lucky" had its own star power with Daniel Craig, Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Katie Holmes, but that was not enough to put the movie over the $10 million mark. "Logan Lucky" came in third place, behind "The Hitman's Bodyguard" and "Annabelle: Creation," which made $15.5 million in its second week, according to ComScore.
World War II epic "Dunkirk" pulled in $6.7 million for fourth place and "Nut Job: Nutty By Nature" was fifth with a $5.1 million take. Rounding out the top 10 box office were: "The Emoji Movie" ($4.3 million); "Spider-Man Homecoming" ($4.2); "Girls Trip" ($3.8 million); "The Dark Tower" ($3.7 million); and "Wind River" ($3 million).
Worldwide, though, "Annabelle: Creation" continued to scare up monster figures, with $42 million overseas receipts this past weekend, followed by "Wolf Warrior 2," with $36 million. "The Hitman's Bodyguard" did a modest $6.5 million overseas, according to ComScore.
The movie box office overall this summer, though, continues to drag behind last year by 13.3 percent, noted Variety