Will Smith's 'Bad Boys' stays atop N. American box office

Sony's Bad Boys for Life stayed atop the North American box office at the weekend, while war film 1917 held at second as it continued racking up awards, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Monday.

Bad Boys, with popular actors Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reprising their roles as two wise-cracking detectives, took in $34 million for the three-day weekend, a surprising success for a sequel that kept fans waiting for 17 years.

Universal's World War I drama 1917 continued its march forward, selling $15.9 million in tickets to remain in second place while passing the $100 million mark domestically since its release.

The Sam Mendes film has piled up the honors, including the Directors Guild of America's top prize Saturday, and is considered an Oscar favorite.

In third place was Dolittle, Universal's take on the beloved children's book about a veterinarian who can talk to the animals.

It took in $12.2 million, raising its domestic total to just over $44 million — still a small fraction of its net budget of $175 million, according to Hollywood Reporter.

The cast includes Robert Downey Jr., Emma Thompson, Antonio Banderas and Marion Cotillard.

Fourth spot went to new release The Gentlemen, an action comedy from STX that took in $10.7 million.

The Guy Ritchie movie, with a star-studded (and mainly male) cast including Matthew McConaughey, Hugh Grant, Henry Golding and Colin Farrell, tells the story of an American in London who encounters a series of complications when he decides to sell off his lucrative cannabis empire.

And in fifth, down one spot from last weekend, was Sony's Jumanji: The Next Level, at $7.7 million. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Kevin Hart star in the action sequel.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

• The Turning ($7 million)
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ($5.6 million)
• Little Women ($4.6 million)
• Just Mercy ($4 million)
• Knives Out ($3.5 million)