'Cars 3' ropes in 'Wonder Woman' - Lacks pep of previous two films

LOS ANGELES (AP):

Wonder Woman fell to second place in its third weekend in cinemas, but it's still doing the heavy lifting for the otherwise lacklustre summer box office.

While many worn-out franchises and franchise hopefuls continue to struggle to find a significant North American audience, smaller films such as the Tupac biopic All Eyez on Me and the shark thriller 47 Meters Down were able to break through the clutter and make a splash this weekend.

As expected, the third instalment in Disney and Pixar's US$1-billion Cars franchise easily took the top spot, but its estimated US$53.5 million in earnings told a more complicated tale. Cars 3 had the worst opening in the series' history Cars opened to US$60.1 million and Cars 2 to US$66.1 million and it was one of the lowest debut totals for the Pixar brand.

Wonder Woman was knocked down to second place with US$40.8 million, bringing its domestic total to US$274.6 million, while holdover The Mummy slid to fourth place in weekend two with US$13.9 million.

Next week Transformers: The Last Knight opens.

Following are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian cinemas, according to comScore.

1. Cars 3, US$53.5 million (US$21.3 million international).

2. Wonder Woman, US$40.8 million (US$39.5 million international).

3. All Eyez on Me, US$27.1 million (US$3.1 million international).

4. The Mummy, US$13.9 million (US$53 million international).

5. 47 Meters Down, US$11.5 million.

6. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, US$8.5 million (US$18.8 million international).

7. Rough Night, US$8.1 million (US$4.2 million international).

8. Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, US$7.4 million (US$1.2 million international).

9. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, US$5 million (US $1.2 million international).

10. It Comes At Night, US$2.6 million.