Michael Chaves is celebrating a box office victory…
The 38-year-old Latino filmmaker’s The Nun II topped the box office charts, scaring up $32.6 million this weekend from 3,728 locations.
That was more than enough to unseat Sony’s The Equalizer 3, which features Denzel Washington as a mysterious avenging angel, from the first place perch it held last weekend.
The Equalizer 3 racked up over $12.1 million in its second weekend to push its domestic gross to $61.9 million. Globally, the action sequel crossed $100 million at worldwide box office, bringing its haul to $107.7 million.
Though impressive, The Nun II, which is the ninth chapter in Warner Bros.’ ongoing Conjuring series, couldn’t match the high-water mark set by its 2018 predecessor The Nun, which opened with $53.8 million.
The film sees Taissa Farmiga and Bonnie Aarons return as Sister Irene and the titular Nun, respectively, with newcomers to the franchise, Jonas Bloquet, Storm Reid and Anna Popplewell, rounding out the ensemble of frequently habit-wearing characters.
Chaves, who directed The Curse of La Llorona and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, slid behind the camera for this installment.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3, the weekend’s other new wide release, opened in third place with $10 million. The film was written and directed by Nia Vardalos, who also stars alongside John Corbett. Focus Features is distributing the film in the North America, while Universal Pictures International has foreign territories. The third chapter in the comedy series follows the eccentric Portokalos family as they travel to Greece for a family reunion.
