- Darvish tames Ohtani as Padres thrash Dodgers
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- Amazon activist warns of 'critical situation' ahead of UN forum
- Mourners pay tribute to latest victims of deadly Channel crossing
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- Phillies win thriller to level Mets series
- Yu bags first PGA Tour win with playoff win
- PSG held by Nice to leave Monaco clear at top of Ligue 1
- AC Milan fall at Fiorentina after De Gea's penalty heroics
- Lewandowski treble for leaders Barca as Atletico held
- Fresh Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Sucic stunner earns Real Sociedad draw against Atletico
- PSG draw with Nice, fail to reclaim top spot in Ligue 1
- Gudmundsson downs AC Milan after De Gea's penalty heroics for Fiorentina
- 'Yes' vote prevails in Kazakhstan nuclear plant vote: TV
- '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
Latest 'Alien' movie scares up big crowds in N. America theaters
New sci-fi horror film "Alien: Romulus" topped the weekend box office in North American theaters, showing the franchise's continued ability to scare up sizable audiences, analysts said Sunday.
The latest film in a series that began with Ridley Scott's 1979 blockbuster "Alien" earned an estimated $41.5 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported.
That was "an excellent opening for a late-episode horror sequel," said David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.
Directed by Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez (of 2013's "Evil Dead"), "Romulus" tells the story of space colonists who, while scavenging in an abandoned space station, encounter a dreaded, face-eating alien.
Cailee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux and Spike Fearn star.
That strong result finally dethroned Marvel's superhero comedy "Deadpool & Wolverine," which slipped to second, taking in $29 million in its fourth weekend out. Ryan Reynolds plays Deadpool with Hugh Jackman reprising his role as Wolverine.
That pushed last weekend's number two -- Sony's dramatic romance "It Ends With Us," based on the Colleen Hoover novel -- down to third, with a still-impressive $24 million.
Behind actor and producer Blake Lively, the film scored one of the best-ever openings for a romance film, despite a very public spat between Lively and co-star and director Justin Baldoni.
In fourth was Universal and Amblin Entertainment's weather thriller "Twisters," at $9.8 million. Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell star in the standalone sequel to the 1996 classic disaster film.
And in fifth was the 15th anniversary re-release of stop-motion classic "Coraline" from Focus Features, at $8.4 million. Based on the Neil Gaiman novella, "Coraline" tells the story of a lonely 11-year-old who discovers an alternate universe behind a mysterious door.
Analyst Gross said successful summer sequels like "Romulus," "Twisters" and "Deadpool" were "an absolute boon to the industry," employing thousands of artists and craftspeople and giving moviemakers the financial leeway to take bigger risks.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
"Despicable Me 4" ($6 million)
"Trap" ($3.4 million)
"Inside Out 2" ($3.2 million)
"Borderlands" ($2.4 million)
"Stree 2" ($2.3 million)
Y.Kobayashi--AMWN