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New York — M. Night Shyamalan's multiple-personality thriller Split led the box office for a third-straight week, an unusual streak for a low-budget horror film.
According to studio estimates Sunday, Split came out on top again with $14.6m in North American ticket sales, bringing the Universal Pictures release's three-week haul to $98.7m.
The run for the Universal Pictures release has come in an especially slow period at multiplexes. Hollywood traditionally skips significant new releases on Super Bowl weekend due to the game's enormous television audience.
Surely hurt by the continued strength of Split, Paramount's horror option, Rings, came in second with an estimated $13m. The sequel was an attempted revival the dormant franchise begun with 2002's The Ring and followed up with 2005's The Ring Two.
Rings served as yet another questionable decision to recharge a franchise long out of theaters. It cost a relatively minimal $25m to make and pulled in $15.2m internationally over the weekend. But it won't come close to the $249.3m the first installment made globally, or the $161.5m The Ring Two made.
The weekend's other debut, The Space Between Us, flopped altogether. The STX Entertainment release, starring Asa Butterfield as a boy who comes to Earth after being raised by astronauts on Mars, made a mere $3.8m. It cost $30m to make.
Universal's A Dog's Purpose came in third with $10.8 million in its second weekend. Audiences have largely shrugged off the outcry over a leaked video from the film's production of a frightened German shepherd being urged into churning water.
On Saturday, the group responsible for overseeing animal safety on the set, American Humane, released findings from an independent animal-cruelty expert. The unidentified veterinarian said the video mischaracterised the events on the set, though the vet acknowledged the dog should have been handled more gently in the scene shown in the video.
Several Oscar contenders continued to pad their totals. Hidden Figures earned $10.1m for a seven-week total of $119.4m. La La Land added $7.5m to bring its domestic total to $118.3m in nine weeks of release. And Lion took in $4m in its 11th week for a cumulative total of $24.7m.
La La Land, in particular, is doing exceptional business worldwide. The best-picture favourite made $20.1m overseas on the weekend, bringing its global haul to nearly $270m.
