Provocative ‘Civil War’ prevails at the box office in its second weekend

Alex Garland’s “Civil War” fended off incursions from new movies to retain its box office title for the second weekend in a row.

The provocative film, from independent A24, is expected to generate about $11.1 million in ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada through Sunday, bringing its total domestic box gross to $44.9 million, according to Comscore.

The R-rated dystopian thriller, also written by Garland, stars Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny and Wagner Moura as journalists in a near-future time struggling to cover deadly urban warfare on U.S. soil, as California and Texas unite to take down a president who has given himself an unconstitutional third term.

Universal Pictures’ “Abigail,” the R-rated horror tale about a monstrous 12-year-old ballerina battling her captors, made a splash as it came in a close second to “Civil War” with an estimated $10.2 million at the box office, according to Comscore. It opened in 3,384 locations.

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Comscore estimated the overall total box office haul for the three-day window would reach $65.4 million. Year-to-date, the box office slump continues with an estimated $1.98 billion in domestic ticket sales, down 19% compared with 2023.

Last weekend, “Civil War” opened with an estimated $25.7 million in ticket sales from the U.S. and Canada, which exceeded industry expectations. The strong showing marked the biggest domestic opening weekend for an A24 movie since the company’s founding 12 years ago. With a reported $50 million budget, “Civil War” is A24’s most expensive movie ever. The movie played in 3,929 theaters.

A24’s movies include best-picture Oscar winners “Moonlight” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” and other standouts including, “Hereditary,” “Lady Bird” and “Uncut Gems.”

Last weekend, “Civil War” toppled Warner Bros.’ “Godzilla x Kong,” which had held the top spot for two weekends. This weekend, “Godzilla x Kong,” is expected to come in third place with $9.5 million in ticket sales for a domestic total of $171.6 million through four weekends.

Two other new releases planted their flags. Guy Ritchie’s “The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,” from Lionsgate, was projected to finish the weekend in fourth place with an estimated $9 million. Sony Pictures/Crunchyroll’s “Spy x Family Code: White” should generate about $4.9 million, placing fifth for the weekend.