'Captain Marvel' wins North American box office for second weekend in a row

Disney and Marvel's superheroine film "Captain Marvel" easily maintained its reign in North America, adding 69.31 million U.S. dollars during its second weekend of release for a North American total of 266.21 million dollars.

It has been the biggest second weekend of 2019 in North America by far. The film also earned 119.7 million dollars internationally this weekend for a massive worldwide cume of 760.2 million dollars through Sunday, according to studio figures collected by measurement firm Comscore.

Based on the Marvel Comics superheroine of the same name and directed by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, the film stars Brie Larson in the title role. It's the 21st installment of Marvel Cinematic Universe and its first adaptation featuring a woman in the lead role. The plot follows Carol Danvers as she becomes one of the universe's most powerful heroes when the Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.

Paramount's animated adventure film "Wonder Park" opened in the second place with an estimated 16 million dollars in its debut. The film tells the story of a magnificent amusement park where the imagination of a wildly creative girl named June comes alive. The film cost a reported 100 million dollars to produce before marketing.

Another newcomer, Lionsgate's romantic drama "Five Feet Apart" opened in the third with an estimated 13.15 million dollars this weekend. Directed by Justin Baldoni, the film stars Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse as two young patients with cystic fibrosis who meet and fall in love while being treated.

Universal and DreamWorks' animated fantasy film "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" landed in the fourth with an estimated 9.34 million dollars in its fourth weekend, pushing its North American total to 135.64 million dollars. Loosely based on the book series of the same name by Cressida Cowell, the film is the final installment in the "How to Train Your Dragon" film trilogy. Directed by Dean DeBlois, the film follows Hiccup seeking a dragon utopia called "The Hidden World."

Lionsgate's comedy film "A Madea Family Funeral" finished the fifth in its third weekend with an estimated 8.08 million dollars for a North American cume of 59.06 million dollars. Directed and written by Tyler Perry, the plot centers on a joyous family reunion that becomes a nightmare as Madea and the crew travel to backwoods Georgia, where they find themselves unexpectedly planning a funeral that might unveil unsavory family secrets. 

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)