With COVID-19 fears again depressing North American moviegoing, new Warner Bros./DC superhero film The Suicide Squad led the weekend box office but took in only an estimated $26.6 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday.
The movie, dubbed a pseudo-sequel to 2016's major hit Suicide Squad, again featured A-listers Margot Robbie and Viola Davis, but two big names from the earlier version – Will Smith and Jared Leto – sat this one out.
The film's simultaneous release on HBO Max further hurt its box-office totals.
Hollywood has been struggling to return to pre-pandemic levels.
"This is an unforgiving market," David Gross, who runs consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, told Variety.
Last week's box office leader, Disney's family-friendly adventure film Jungle Cruise, slipped to second spot, taking in $15.7 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period, less than half its week-earlier total.
The film, which puts a modern twist on a 1950s theme park ride, stars Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson.
In third was Universal's psychological thriller Old, at $4.1 million.
Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps and Rufus Sewell star in the M. Night Shyamalan tale of a group of people who begin to age precipitously while trapped on a secluded beach.
In fourth place, for the second straight week, was Disney Marvel superhero flick Black Widow starring Scarlett Johansson, which took in $4.0 million.
It now has domestic earnings of $174 million, pushing it past Universal's "F9: The Fast Saga" as the top-grossing film in North America so far this year.
And in fifth was Matt Damon's film Stillwater from Focus Features, at $2.9 million.
Damon plays a burly American oil worker who travels to France to help his estranged daughter (Abigail Breslin) when she is jailed for a killing she says she did not commit.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
The Green Knight ($2.6 million)
Space Jam: A New Legacy"($2.5 million)
Snake Eyes ($1.6 million)
Escape Room: Tournament of Champions ($1.3 million)
F9: The Fast Saga ($1.2 million)