'John Wick' opens on top as 'Avengers' nears historic mark

LOS ANGELES: "Avengers: Endgame" finally yielded the top spot in North American box offices this weekend to the latest "John Wick" action film, but the Marvel Studios/Disney blockbuster edged closer to historic status as the all-time No. 1 grossing film.

"Avengers" took in an estimated domestic total of $29.4 million in its fourth weekend out, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations estimated Sunday, bringing its worldwide total to $2.61 billion, just shy of the $2.79 billion "Avatar" earned in 2009.

But in North America, it fell well behind Lionsgate´s new "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum," which posted a strong $57 million for its opening three-day weekend.

The third "John Wick" movie again stars Keanu Reeves as a retired hitman, this time being chased by an army of killers after a $14 million contract is put on his head. The film also stars Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Ian McShane and Anjelica Huston.

In third, down one spot from last weekend, was Warner Bros.´ family-friendly "Pokemon: Detective Pikachu," at $24.8 million. Based on a Nintendo video game and subsequent anime series, it has the animated title character (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) teaming up with a young boy (Justice Smith, in a live-action role) to seek the boy´s missing father.

"A Dog´s Journey" from Universal placed fourth, at $8 million.

Based on a novel of the same name, it stars Dennis Quaid and Josh Gad in the story of a dog that is repeatedly reincarnated, each time to protect someone close to it -- a plot device that works for some animal lovers but which critics have called "emotionally manipulative" and "insufferable."

The movie is a follow-up to 2017´s "A Dog´s Purpose."

In fifth was "The Hustle" from United Artists, at $6.1 million. The female-driven revamp of "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" stars Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway as two con-women trying to scam an internet millionaire.

Rounding out the weekend´s top 10 were:

"The Intruder" ($4 million)

"Long Shot" ($3.4 million)

"The Sun Is Also a Star" ($2.6 million)

"Poms" ($2.1 million)

"UglyDolls" ($1.6 million)