“This is an excellent opening for a musical biography,” analyst David A Gross said, adding that the film was doing much better with audiences than with critics.
British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir, who plays the iconic reggae singer in the story of his rapid rise and too-soon death, previously drew attention for his portrayal of Malcolm X in “One Night in Miami.”
Lashana Lynch plays Rita Marley, and son Ziggy Marley is one of the film’s producers.
Another new release, Sony/Marvel superhero thriller “Madame Web,” placed second for the Friday-through-Sunday period, at US$15.2 million.
Analysts called that a disappointing opening, given the film’s US$80 million production cost – and its meagre 13% positive rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website.
Gone are the days, said Gross, of Franchise Entertainment Research, when “you could pluck a character out of a popular superhero movie and make a hit film about them.”
Dakota Johnson plays the titular Madame Web – a paramedic with psychic talents – in this fourth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe series.
Dropping to third from last weekend’s top spot was Universal’s spy thriller “Argylle,” at US$4.7 million. It has now taken in US$36.4 million domestically – “tragic” figures for a film with a US$200 million budget, according to Variety.
In fourth, flying steady in its fifth weekend out, was Universal’s family-friendly animation “Migration,” at US$3.8 million.
And in fifth was another chapter of Fathom Events’ story of the life of Jesus Christ, “The Chosen: S4, EP 4-6.” It earned US$3.4 million.
Warner Bros.’ musical “Wonka” finally dropped out of the top five in its 10th week out, but did manage to hit the US$600 million mark globally.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
- “Wonka” (US$3.4 million)
- “The Beekeeper” (US$3.3 million)
- “Anyone But You” (US$2.4 million)
- “Lisa Frankenstein” (US$2 million)
- “Land of Bad” (US$1.8 million)