All spooked up: Horror film leads 'Priscilla' at North American box office

Universal's Halloween season release Five Nights at Freddy's remained in first place at the North American box office, beating out the awards-tilted biopic on Elvis Presley's wife Priscilla, estimates showed Sunday. Despite maintaining its lead in ticket sales, Freddy's still had a frightening drop from $78 million in its debut weekend to only $19.4 million this week, according to industry watcher Exhibitor Relations.

The video-game-based film, released both in theatres and on Universal's Peacock platform, is "crashing in its second weekend of simultaneous streaming," said analyst David A. Gross. Josh Hutcherson, starring in his biggest role since the Hunger Games franchise, leads the cast as a security guard working nights at an abandoned family entertainment centre, where creepy animatronic characters spring murderously to life after dark.

The horror film was followed again by Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, earning another $13.5 million in its fourth week out, for a total domestic haul of $166 million. Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon maintained its third-place spot at $7 million in North American theaters, while also crossing the symbolic $100 million figure in worldwide sales. The over-three-hour film is to be released on Apple's streaming platform, but a date has not yet been announced.

In its first wide-release weekend, Sofia Coppola's Priscilla landed in fourth place at just $5 million. The film charts the rocky relationship between Elvis and Priscilla Presley, from their first meeting on a German army base when she was just 14 and the rock'n'roll star was 24, through to their acrimonious split.

In the titular role, 25-year-old Cailee Spaeny has already earned the Venice Film Festival's Best Actress award, while Jacob Elordi has received strong reviews for his performance as Elvis. The latest Elvis-related biopic to hit theatres had a "fair opening for a romance drama," said analyst David A. Gross. It may find some more momentum, he said, given its "excellent reviews and very good audience scores."

In fifth was the newly released Spanish-language film Radical at $2.7 million. Based on a true story, it follows a teacher in a Mexican border town who "tries a radical new method to unleash the curiosity and potential of his students," according to production company Pantelion Films.

Rounding out the top 10 were: Exorcist: The Believer, ($2.2 million), After Death ($2.0 million), Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie ($2.0 million). What Happens Later ($1.6 million), Freelance ($1.2 million)

Have something to add? Share it in the comments