Warner Bros.' "The Batman" and Funimation Films' "Jujutsu Kaisen 0" found their pot of gold the weekend after St. Patrick's Day, clinching first and second place, respectively, at the North American box office.
"The Batman" added $36.8 million in its third consecutive week atop the domestic box office for a North American cumulative of $300.1 million, while "Jujutsu Kaisen 0" premiered at $17.7 million.
"The Batman" is the highest grossing movie of 2022 and the second highest since the beginning of the pandemic (first place goes to "Spider-Man: No Way Home").
Directed by Seong-Hu Park, "Jujutsu Kaisen 0" is a theatrical prequel to the wildly popular anime TV series and manga of the same name written and illustrated by Gege Akutami. The animated fantasy film centers on Yuta Okkotsu (voiced by Megumi Ogata), a high school student learning to harness a powerful curse.
Also among the main voice cast of "Jujutsu Kaisen 0" are Koki Uchiyama as Toge Inumaki, Mikako Komatsu as Maki Zen'in and Tomokazu Seki as Panda. In addition to opening strong at the domestic box office, the action adventure also scored a perfect 100% rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.
"Fans made this movie a big hit [last] weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "It shows how passionate fans of anime are and how beautiful these films are when presented on the big screen."
Also new to theaters last weekend was A24's "X," which nabbed the No. 4 spot with $4.4 million. Rounding out the top five were Columbia Pictures' "Uncharted," which grossed $8 million in its fifth weekend for a North American cumulative of $125.9 million; and United Artists Releasing's "Dog," which fetched $4.1 million in its fifth weekend for a North American cumulative of $54.2 million.
Helmed by Ti West, "X" is a slasher flick starring Brittany Snow, Kid Cudi, Jenna Ortega, Owen Campbell and Mia Goth as a group of filmmakers who become imperiled after attempting to make a pornographic film in 1979 rural Texas. The horror movie landed an excellent 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Another horror title debuting in wide release last weekend was Sony and Stage 6 Films' "Umma," starring Sandra Oh as a farmer haunted by her dead mother. Directed by Iris K. Shim, the spooky feature scared up $915,000 at the North American box office and received a dismal 29% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Focus Features launched the crime drama "The Outfit," starring Mark Rylance in 1,324 locations. It made an estimated $1.5 million. And outside of the top 10, Vertical Entertainment and Roadside Attractions had "Alice," the Sundance breakout about an enslaved woman who gets transported to 1973, which made $176,120 from 170 locations.
Coming to theaters this weekend are Cinedigm Entertainment Group's pandemic dramedy "7 Days" and Paramount Pictures' action rom-com "The Lost City."