- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Lewandowski hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- 'Nothing gets in way of team,' says Celtics' MVP hopeful Tatum
- India maintain Pakistan stranglehold as Windies cruise at Women's T20 World Cup
- 'We will win!': Mozambique's ruling party confident at final vote rally
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Florida braces for Milton, FEMA head slams 'dangerous' Helene misinformation
- Postecoglou slams 'unacceptable' Spurs after 'terrible' loss at Brighton
- Marmoush double denies Bayern outright Bundesliga top spot
- Rallies worldwide call for Gaza, Lebanon ceasefire
- Maresca hails Chelsea's 'fighting' spirit after draw with 10-man Forest
- New 'Joker' film, a dark musical, tops N.America box office
- Man Utd stalemate keeps Ten Hag in danger, Spurs rocked by Brighton
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Vikings hold off Jets in London to stay unbeaten
- Ahead of attack anniversary, Netanyahu says: 'We will win'
- West Indies cruise to T20 World Cup win over Scotland
- Arshdeep, Chakravarthy help India hammer Bangladesh in T20 opener
- Lewandowski's quickfire hat-trick powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Man Utd fire another blank in Aston Villa stalemate
- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
'Strange' reigns but 'Downton' shows class on N.America screens
"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" continued its domination in North American theaters this weekend, earning an estimated $31.6 million, while the latest "Downton Abbey" came in a stately second, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday.
Marvel and Disney's "Strange," again starring the versatile Benedict Cumberbatch, has been a Covid-era star since its release three weekends ago. It has now earned $342 million domestically and $461 million abroad for a global total of $803 million.
"Downton Abbey: A New Era" from Focus Features took in a solid $16 million. Perhaps not surprising given the huge popularity of the British TV series that inspired it, but nonetheless a sign that older moviegoers -- the most reluctant to return to pandemic-era theaters -- are beginning to do so.
"This is a very good opening," said David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research, who noted that nearly half of ticket buyers were aged 55 or older.
Writer/director Julian Fellowes, Gross said, "is the George Lucas of period English sitting-room drama."
Most of the original Downton cast -- led by Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern and Michelle Dockery -- appear in the sequel, which critics have called an "affectionate group hug."
In third place for the Friday-through-Sunday period was Universal's animated action-comedy "The Bad Guys." The DreamWorks Animation production, with a voice cast led by Sam Rockwell, Awkwafina and Anthony Ramos, took in $6.1 million.
Paramount's family-friendly "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" slipped one spot from last weekend to fourth, at $3.9 million.
In fifth was A24's new horror film "Men," at $3.3 million. Directed by Alex Garland, who made "Ex Machina," and starring Jessie Buckley, it drew a rare low D+ grade from the CinemaScore site.
Meanwhile a pro-Donald Trump film, "2000 Mules," earned $765,000 to claim 11th spot.
The movie from conservative Dinesh D'Souza -- who in 2018 received a pardon from Trump for a felony conviction of making illegal campaign contributions -- falsely claims to offer "smoking gun" evidence of massive voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
"Everything Everywhere All at Once" ($3.1 million)
"Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" ($1.9 million)
"Firestarter" ($1.9 million)
"The Lost City" ($1.5 million)
"The Northman" ($1 million)
bbk/mlm
L.Durand--AMWN