By Canadian Press

‘How to Train Your Dragon’ stays No. 1, ‘Madea’ a strong 2nd

Mar 4, 2019 | 5:30 AM

LOS ANGELES — “How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” topped the North American box office for a second week, but close on its tail was Tyler Perry’s final installment of the “Madea” franchise. Driven by a largely female audience, “A Madea Family Funeral” had a better-than-expected debut.

The third installment in the “How To Train Your Dragon” series grossed an estimated $30 million this weekend according to Universal Pictures on Sunday, bringing its domestic total just shy of $100 million. Worldwide, the DreamWorks Animation film has made over $375 million. In China alone it opened in first place with $33.4 million.

“A Madea Family Funeral” took second place at the domestic box office with an estimated $27 million, a third best for the 15-year-old franchise. The “Madea” films have never been all that popular with critics — this one splattered out with a 24 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes — but audiences have never seemed to care. This time around the audience, which was 67 per cent female and 78 per cent over the age of 25, gave the film a solid A- CinemaScore.

“That character just resonates,” said Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “These films are absolutely critic proof. The audience has spoken and they love Madea and they’re saying goodbye.”

Further down the charts, the Neil Jordan stalker-thriller “Greta,” starring Isabelle Huppert and Chloe Grace Moretz, opened in eighth place to a mediocre $4.6 million.

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“Greta was just another newcomer released in 2019 that had a rough go in a slow marketplace,” Dergarabedian said. “This might have benefited from a platform release given the subject matter and the cast.”

The acclaimed documentary “Apollo 11” also opened on 120 IMAX screens to $1.65 million.

Many people, however, used this weekend to catch-up with the big winners at the Oscars, which took place last Sunday.

Best-picture winner “Green Book” got the biggest post-Oscars bump, adding $4.71 million over the weekend from theatres. To date, “Green Book” has earned $75.2 million in North America and $188 million worldwide.

The Universal-distributed film from Participant Media more than doubled its theatre count to 2,641 theatres and broke into the top 5 in its 16th weekend, not to mention the fact that it’s also available to rent on the small screen too.

For comparison, last year’s best picture winner “The Shape of Water” added $2.3 million on the weekend following the Academy Awards, although that was playing in about 1,000 fewer theatres.

“Green Book” wasn’t the only award-winner adding profits this weekend. Best Animated Feature winner “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” banked an additional $2.1 million, the encore version of “A Star Is Born” with 12 additional minutes of footage added $1.9 million, “Bohemian Rhapsody” earned $975,000 and “The Favourite” took in $825,000.

“People wonder why studios spend millions on Oscar campaigns: They’re getting a nice boost and adding money even while they’re available on the small screen,” Dergarabedian said.

But overall the box office continues to struggle industry-wide. Both the year and the weekend are down 26 per cent, in part due to the fact that there hasn’t been any film comparable to “Black Panther,” which accounted for the stellar early-year numbers in 2018.

Marvel is coming back to save the day yet again, however: “Captain Marvel” opens nationwide next weekend.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Tuesday.

1.”How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” $30 million ($52 million international).

2.Tyler Perry’s “A Madea Family Funeral,” $27 million ($58,000 international).

3.”Alita: Battle Angel,” $7 million ($40.4 million international).

4.”The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,” $6.6 million ($6.1 million international).

5.”Green Book,” $4.7 million ($31.9 million international).

6.”Fighting With My Family,” $4.7 million ($2.3 million international).

7.”Isn’t It Romantic,” $4.6 million.

8.”Greta,” $4.6 million ($400,000 international).

9.”What Men Want,” $2.7 million ($1.1 million international).

10.”Happy Death Day 2U,” $2.5 million ($6.2 million international).

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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Comscore:

1. “How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World,” $52 million.

2. “Alita: Battle Angel,” $40.4 million.

3. “Green Book,” $31.9 million.

4. “The Wandering Earth,” $14.9 million.

5. “Escape Room,” $6.3 million.

6. “Happy Death Day 2U,” $6.2 million.

7. “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part,” $6.1 million.

8. “Cold Pursuit,” $5.9 million.

9. “Resistance: The Yoo Kwan-soon Story,” $5.2 million.

10. “Svaha: The Sixth Finger,” $4.7 million.

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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ldbahr

Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press