Movie

'How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World' blocks 'Tyler Perry's a Madea Family Funeral' from debuting at the top spot of the domestic chart.

• Mar 4, 2019

AceShowbiz - "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" maintains its reign on North American box office in its second week. Bringing in an estimated $30 million in the second weekend, the third and final installment of DreamWorks Animation's fantasy film franchise successful holds off newcomer "Tyler Perry's a Madea Family Funeral" from entering the chart at No. 1.

The animated movie is close to reaching $100 million domestically, while it has grossed more than $375 million worldwide. It still holds the title of the best opening of 2019 with its $97.7 million debut last week, though "Captain Marvel" will likely break the record when it's released later this week.

"Madea Family Funeral", also the last of its own franchise, opened to approximately $27 million for the runner-up place. It marks the third best opening for the franchise, behind 2009's "Madea Goes to Jail" which posted $41 million opening and 2006's "Madea's Family Reunion" which debuted to $30 million.

Tyler Perry's "Madea" films have never received much love from critics and this one is no different. It holds an approval rating of 24% on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences gave it A- on CinemaScore, while those at PostTrak gave it a 4 out of 5 stars and a 67% "definite recommend."

Explaining audiences' love for the "Madea" movies, Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian says, "That character just resonates." He adds, "These films are absolutely critic-proof. The audience has spoken, and they love Madea and they're saying goodbye."

Another newcomer, "Greta" starring Chloe Moretz, debuts lower at No. 8 with an estimated $4.6 million. " 'Greta' was just another newcomer released in 2019 that had a rough go in a slow marketplace," Dergarabedian says. "This might have benefited from a platform release, given the subject matter and the cast."

Back to the top five, "Alita: Battle Angel" drops one place No. 3 with additional $7 million, bringing its domestic cume to $72.2 million and its worldwide gross to $350 million worldwide. In the fourth place, "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part" added an estimated $6.6 million for a current domestic total of $91.7 million.

"Green Book" takes a leap from No. 11 to No. 5, boosted by its Oscars' wins. It added an estimated $4.7 million in its sixteenth week, bringing its domestic gross to $75.9 million so far.

Oscars' Best Animated Feature Film "Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse" rises five spots to No. 11 with additional $2.1 million (up 137.5%), while "A Star Is Born" sees the biggest increase (208.9%) with additional $1.9 million that brings it from No. 20 to No. 13.

Top Ten Movies at Weekend Box Office for Mar. 01-03:

1. "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" - $30 million
2. "Tyler Perry's a Madea Family Funeral" - $27 million
3. "Alita: Battle Angel" - $7 million
4. "The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part" - $6.6 million
5. "Green Book" - $4.7 million
6. "Fighting with My Family" - $4.7 million
7. "Isn't It Romantic" - $4.6 million
8. "Greta" - $4.6 million
9. "What Men Want" - $2.7 million
10. "Happy Death Day 2U" - $2.5 million