‘Lilo & Stitch’ keeps on cruising

In the box office showdown between a deadly assassin and a chaotic CG alien Lilo Stitch still had the edge The Disney juggernaut celebrated a third weekend at the top of the charts while the John Wick spinoff Ballerina did not jet as high as expected According to studio estimates Sunday From the World of John Wick Ballerina earned million from theaters in the U S and Canada Several weeks ago it was tracking to open in the to million range but that was adjusted down several times Ultimately it still came in lower than forecasts The movie directed by Len Wiseman makes a sideline character out of Keanu Reeves John Wick and focuses on Ana de Armas It takes place during the events of John Wick The box office performance is a bit perplexing conclusion considering that Ballerina got good critic reviews and audience exit polls Conventional wisdom would say that word of mouth might have given it a boost over the weekend But in recent months opening weekend isn t the end all that it used to be Ballerina could be in the event for the long haul Even though its part of the John Wick franchise it s playing like a true original And that s not a bad thing explained Paul Dergarabedian the senior media analyst for Comscore This was not a movie that was ever going to open like a Mission Impossible or another huge franchise As the first spinoff it s the second lowest opening of the five-film franchise above only the first film which opened just over million in which does not account for inflation The franchise overall has grossed more than billion worldwide Dergarabedian added that the R-rated Ballerina could also be positioned for a strong second weekend when it goes up against family-targeted How to Train Your Dragon First place once again went to Lilo Stitch which added another million in North America bringing its domestic total to and global tally to million In just days it s already made more domestically than the live-action The Little Mermaid did in its entire run million Mission Impossible The Final Reckoning slid to third place with million bringing its worldwide total to million Karate Kid Legends earned million to take fourth place And Final Destination Bloodlines rounded out the top five with million The new Wes Anderson movie The Phoenician Scheme expanded beyond New York and Los Angeles to theaters nationwide The Focus Features release starring Benicio del Toro made an estimated million and landed in sixth place