Deadpool is still dominating the box office

Los Angeles - A group of ancient Egyptian deities couldn't take down the mercenary with a mouth.

Marvel's antihero blockbuster Deadpool continued to dominate North American movie theatres over the weekend, earning an estimated $31.5m in its third week and besting newcomer Gods of Egypt, according to comScore estimates on Sunday.

The total domestic haul for 20th Century Fox's comic book adaptation starring Ryan Reynolds as Marvel's foul-mouthed mercenary now stands at $285.6m, making it the third highest-grossing R-rated film behind American Sniper and The Passion of the Christ.



Lionsgate's Gods of Egypt featuring Gerard Butler as a rebellious Egyptian god debuted in second place with $14m. The film, which reportedly cost $140m and also stars Brenton Thwaites and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, is Hollywood's first major flop of the year.

"Lionsgate went for it, and I think the unpredictability of this marketplace made it too tough for them," said Paul Dergarabedian, comScore's senior media analyst. "I think we'll probably have to wait until Batman v Superman to see another massive opening weekend."

Gods of Egypt faced backlash last year for casting mostly white actors in a film based on Egyptian mythology.

The film's director Alex Proyas, who was born in Egypt, apologised in a statement in November.



Lionsgate issued a separate statement that said they are deeply committed to making films that reflect the diversity of their audiences and pledged to do better.

Other newcomers that failed to topple Deadpool this weekend included the feel-good Olympic tale Eddie the Eagle in fifth place with $6.3m and the heist romp Triple 9 in sixth place with $6.1m.

The Revenant was the only Academy Award contender to crack the weekend's Top 10 with $3.8m in its 10th week of release.