Sci-fi dark comedy tops NAmerica box office
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Mickey 17, a black comedy from Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho, topped the North American box office this weekend with an estimated take of US$19.1 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.
But Warner Bros and Plan B are not celebrating yet, given the film’s production cost of a reported US$118 million.
The film — the director’s first since his Parasite — became the first foreign language film to win a Best Picture Oscar.
Robert Pattinson plays Mickey, who volunteers for hazardous space missions and, when killed, is repeatedly “reprinted” to be sent out again. Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo also star.
Marvel and Disney’s Captain America: Brave New World slipped one spot to second, earning US$8.5 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period. In four weeks, the superhero flick has taken in US$176.6 million domestically and an additional US$194 million abroad.
