Good Boys tops North American box office

Good Boys, produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, follows three 12-year-olds - played by Brady Noon, Jacob Tremblay and Keith L. Williams - as they desperately try to get into a kissing party. PHOTO: AP/UNIVERSAL PICTURES

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Universal's kid-oriented comedy Good Boys topped the North American box office this weekend, taking in an estimated US$21 million (S$29.07 million) for the weekend, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday (Aug 18).

It was the first time an R-rated comedy had placed No. 1 since the same studio's Melissa McCarthy film The Boss in early 2016, according to Hollywood Reporter.

Good Boys, produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, follows three 12-year-olds - played by Brady Noon, Jacob Tremblay and Keith L. Williams - as they desperately try to get into a kissing party.

The three-day weekend was a good one for Universal, as last week's top movie Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw - starring Dwayne The Rock Johnson and Jason Statham - slipped just one spot from first to second, taking in US$14 million.

In third spot for a second straight week, showing considerable staying power, was Disney's animated The Lion King, at US$11.9 million. Its all-star voice cast includes Rogen, Donald Glover, Beyonce, James Earl Jones and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Sony's new animation The Angry Birds Movie 2 placed fourth, at US$10.5 million. That was a big drop from the original Angry Birds movie, which opened in May 2016 at US$38.2 million.

And in fifth was Lionsgate's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, at US$10.1 million. Based on the children's horror books, it stars Zoe Colletti, Michael Garza and Gabriel Rush.

Rounding out the weekend's top 10 were: 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (US$9 million) Dora & the Lost City of Gold (US$8.5 million) Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood (US$7.6 million) Blinded by the Light (US$4.5 million) The Art of Racing in the Rain (US$4.4 million).

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