‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ surpasses ‘The Call of the Wild’ for top box office spot

Two family films ruled a light box office weekend as Disney and 20th Century Studios’ “The Call of the Wild” faced off against Paramount’s holdover “Sonic the Hedgehog.”

Both are live action-CG hybrids, but “Sonic” emerged the victor, surpassing the $100-million milestone in its second weekend by adding $26.3 million (a 55% drop) for a North American cumulative of $106.6 million and a global cumulative of $203.1 million, according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore. The overall box office was down 18.7% from the same weekend a year ago; the current year-to-date remains 5.9% ahead of 2019.

“The Call of the Wild” opened in second place with $24.8 million, well above analyst projections of $15 million. Globally the film earned $40.2 million.

The $125-million film stars Harrison Ford as John Thornton opposite a CGI Saint Bernard-Scotch collie mix named Buck in an adaptation of the classic Jack London novel. Disney inherited the film as part of its acquisition of Fox last year.

It was well-received with an A- CinemaScore and a 63% “fresh” rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

At No. 3, Warner Bros.’ “Birds of Prey” added $7 million in its third weekend for a cumulative $72.5 million. Globally the film has earned $173.7 million.

In fourth place, STX Entertainment’s horror “Brahms: The Boy II” opened with $5.9 million, in line with analyst forecasts.

The PG-13 thriller, based on the character from 2016’s “The Boy,” stars Katie Holmes, Ralph Ineson, Owain Yeoman and Christopher Convery. It was poorly received with a C- CinemaScore and an 8% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rounding out the top five, Sony’s “Bad Boys for Life” added $5.86 million in its sixth weekend for a cumulative $191.2 million.

At No. 6, Universal’s “1917” added $4.4 million in its ninth weekend for a cumulative $152 million.

In seventh place, Sony and Blumhouse’s “Fantasy Island” added $4.2 million in its second weekend (a 66% drop) for a cumulative $20.2 million.

At No. 8, Neon’s “Parasite” added $3.1 million in its 20th weekend for a cumulative $48.9 million. This weekend, Imax released a digitally re-mastered version of Bong Joon Ho’s best picture winner for a one-week run at select locations.

In ninth place, Sony’s “Jumanji: The Next Level” added $3 million in its 11th weekend for a cumulative $311 million.

Rounding out the top 10, Universal’s “The Photograph” added $2.8 million in its second weekend (a steep 77% drop) for a cumulative $17.6 million.

In limited release, Focus Features opened “Emma” on five screens to $230,000 for an impressive per-screen average of $46,006. The film, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, earned $8.7 million in worldwide receipts, and earned strong reviews with an 88% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Amazon Studios opened “Seberg” in three locations to $60,487 for a per-screen average of $20,162.

TruTV opened “Impractical Jokers: The Movie” on 357 screens to $2.5 million for a per-screen average of $5,493.

This week, Universal reveals “The Invisible Man,” starring Elisabeth Moss. In limited release, 101 Studios opens “Burden” and Searchlight Pictures debuts “Wendy.”