Don't Breathe steals thunder in US box-office debut

Jane Levy in Don't Breathe. PHOTO: SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Suspense thriller Don't Breathe stole the US box-office thunder in its opening weekend, knocking off Suicide Squad from three weeks at the top, industry estimates showed Sunday.

Don't Breathe - a horror twist on home invasion themes - features a trio of thieves breaking into the house of a supposedly helpless wealthy blind man. The top moneymaker over the weekend snared US$26.1 million ($35.48 million).

Suicide Squad slipped to the number-two spot at US$12.1 million. The film, starring Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie as criminals hired to carry out secret missions, has raked in nearly US$283 million in its first four weeks, despite poor reviews.

Kubo and the Two Strings traded places with Sausage Party for third place, with US$7.9 million in its second week.

The 3-D stop motion adventure fantasy is about a one-eyed boy on a quest in ancient Japan who must battle the gods with a magical instrument.

The raunchy animated comedy Sausage Party, with Seth Rogan as the leading voice, made US$7.7 million.

Moviegoers spent US$7.5 million on action sequel Mechanic: Resurrection, putting it in fifth place on its opening weekend.

Jason Statham plays the highly skilled hit man Arthur Bishop and Jessica Alba is the love of his life. Statham reprises his role from the 2011 film "The Mechanic," loosely based on the 1972 film of the same name, starring Charles Bronson.

Rounding out the top ten films of the weekend are: - Pete's Dragon (US$7.3 million) - War Dogs (US$7.3 million) - Bad Moms (US$5.8 million) - Jason Bourne (US$5.2 million) - Ben-Hur (US$4.5 million)

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