‘Joker ‘squeezes past ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ to reclaim first place at the box office

Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros. Pictures(NEW YORK) — It was the battle of the bad guys this weekend as Warner Brothers’ Joker narrowly beat Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil to reclaim the top spot at the box office.

Joker, in its fourth week of release, delivered an estimated $19.9 million, bringing its totals stateside to over $277.5 million. That places it as the seventh biggest R-rated domestic release ever. Internationally, the film grabbed an estimated $47.8 million, for a worldwide total of nearly $850 million, replacing Wonder Woman, with $821.8 million, as the fifth largest global DC Comics adaptation of all-time.

The aforementioned Maleficent: Mistress of Evil dropped to second place this week, earning an estimated $18.5 million. The sequel to 2014’s Maleficent has racked up a total of $65.4 million here in the states and just under $294 million worldwide. Disney is the parent company of ABC Audio.

It was also a horse race for third place between The Addams Family and Zombieland: Double Tap; the former winning the battle with an estimated $11.7 million and the latter taking fourth place with an estimated $11.6 million.

Rounding out the top five was the only new movie this week to make it into the top five, the horror flick Countdown, opening with an estimated $9 million.

As for the weekend’s other new offerings, Black and Blue, the cop thriller starring Tyrese Gibson and Naomi Harris, took sixth place with an estimated $8.3 million. Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s docudrama The Current War: Director’s Cut, led by Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon, Tom Holland and Katherine Waterston landed in ninth place with an estimated $2.7 million.

In limited release, The Bruce Springsteen concert film Western Stars opened in 537 theaters with an estimated $560,000, while Frankie, starring Isabelle Huppert, Greg Kinnear, Marisa Tomei and Jérémie Renier, earned an estimated $22,941 from four theaters. Kanye West’s Jesus is King, which debuted in 372 IMAX locations, grabbed an estimated $830,000.

Here are the top 10 movies Friday through Sunday, with estimated domestic box office earnings:

1. Joker, $18.9 million
2. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, $18.5 million
3. The Addams Family, $11.7 million
4. Zombieland 2: Double Tap, $11.6 million
5. Countdown, $9 million
6. Black and Blue, $8.3 million
7. Gemini Man, $4 million
8. The Lighthouse, $3.08 million
9. The Current War: Director’s Cut, $2.7 million
10. Abominable, $2 million