Morning Chronicle - 'Batman' again tops N.America box office in a slow month

With few new wide releases coming in what promises to be a quiet March, "Batman will carry the month," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research, who predicts a "thin" release schedule through May.

Warner Bros.'s long and noirish take on the Caped Crusader -- Robert Pattinson stars in the title role, with Paul Dano as the Riddler, Colin Farrell as the Penguin and Zoe Kravitz as Catwoman -- has now surpassed $238 million domestically and $224 million internationally, more than justifying its $200 million production budget.

Sony adventure film "Uncharted," starring Tom Holland as an Indiana Jones-style treasure hunter, held in second place in its fourth week out, taking in an estimated $9.3 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period.

In third was a surprising entry. "BTS Permission to Dance on Stage: Seoul," from Trafalgar Releasing, earned $6.8 million to become the top-grossing live cinema event of all time, according to Hollywood Reporter.

Live-event cinema -- which started mostly with opera performances -- has been gaining popularity.

That knocked Metro Goldwyn Mayer's road-trip comedy "Dog" down one spot to fourth; it took in $5.3 million. Channing Tatum plays an army veteran who drives Lulu, a dog injured while working with the military in Afghanistan, to her former handler's funeral.

And in fifth was Sony blockbuster "Spider-Man: No Way Home," with $4.1 million in ticket sales in its 13th week out. With Tom Holland playing the popular web-slinger, the film's international earnings are nearing $1.1 billion.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Death on the Nile" ($2.5 million)

"Sing 2" ($1.6 million)

"Jackass Forever" ($1.1 million)

"Scream" ($445,000)

"Cyrano" ($391,000)

N.Bobellon--MC-UK