‘Joker’ regains top spot as ‘Black and Blue,’ ‘Countdown’ and ‘Current War’ fall short

In a rare feat, Warner Bros.’ “Joker” reclaimed the top spot at the box office this weekend, adding $18.9 million (a mere 35% drop) in its fourth weekend for a cumulative $277.6 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.

The film is the first to win non-consecutive weekends since “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” in January 2018. “Joker” is now the highest grossing R-rated movie all-time worldwide with $849.1 million, surpassing previous record-holder “Deadpool 2.”

In second place, Disney’s “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” added $18.5 million in its second weekend for a cumulative $65.4 million. Globally the film stands at $293.5 million.

At No. 3, United Artists Releasing and MGM’s “The Addams Family” added $11.7 million in its third weekend for a cumulative $72.8 million. The film has earned $83.8 million internationally.

In fourth place, Sony’s “Zombieland 2: Double Tap” added $11.6 million in its second weekend for a cumulative $47 million.

Rounding out the top five, STX Entertainment’s “Countdown” opened with $9 million.

The $6.5-million horror movie stars Elizabeth Lail (“You”) as a nurse who downloads an app that predicts exactly when a person is going to die. It was poorly received with a C+ CinemaScore and a 27% “rotten” rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

Sony’s “Black and Blue” debuted at number 6 with $8.3 million.

Starring Naomie Harris (“Moonlight”) as a rookie cop who becomes an inadvertent witness to police corruption, the $12-million film was directed by Deon Taylor (“Traffik”) from a script by Peter A. Dowling. It earned a 46% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In seventh place, Paramount’s “Gemini Man” added $4 million in its third weekend for a cumulative $43.3 million.

At number 8, A24’s “The Lighthouse” added 578 locations and $3.1 million in its second weekend (a 621% increase) for a cumulative $3.7 million.

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In ninth place, 101 Studios’ “The Current War: Director’s Cut” opened in 1,022 locations with $2.7 million.

The long-delayed historical drama premiered at the 2017 Toronto Film Festival but was shelved and sold after original distributor the Weinstein Co. shuttered. It stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Thomas Edison and Michael Shannon as George Westinghouse and earned a 59% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rounding out the top 10, Universal’s animated film “Abominable” added $2 million in its fifth weekend for a cumulative $56.8 million.

Outside of the top 10, Sony’s re-release of “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” featuring 10 additional minutes of film (before the start of the movie and during the end credits) screened in 1,674 locations earning $550,000 over the weekend bringing the domestic cumulative to $140.4 million.

IMAX released Kanye West’s gospel feature “Jesus Is King” in 372 locations to $850,000.

In limited release, Warner Bros. opened the Bruce Springsteen concert feature “Western Stars” in 537 locations to $560,000 for a cumulative $1 million including prior special event screenings. It earned a 90% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes.

Fox Searchlight expanded Taika Waititi’s “Jojo Rabbit” into 55 locations in its second weekend (up from five last weekend) earning $1 million for $18,927 per screen and a cumulative $1.5 million.

Neon’s “Parasite” added $1.8 million in its third weekend for a per-screen average of $14,107 and a cumulative $4.1 million.

Sony Pictures Classics opened “Frankie” in four locations to $22,941 for a per-screen average of $5,510. The studio expanded Pedro Almodóvar’s “Pain and Glory” into 117 locations (up from 67) in its fourth weekend to $430,097 for a per-screen average of $6,918 and a cumulative $1.7 million.

Atlas Distribution’s free speech docudrama “No Safe Spaces,” featuring Adam Carolla and Dennis Prager, notched the weekend’s highest per-screen average of $45,236 at a single theater in Phoenix. The film will expand in coming weeks.

This week, Focus Features opens the biopic “Harriet,” Paramount reveals “Terminator: Dark Fate,” Warner Bros. debuts the crime drama “Motherless Brooklyn” and Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures premieres the animated film “Arctic Dogs.”