'Black Adam' wins a star-powered box office weekend - CNN

New York CNN Business  — 

Who says movie stars nary longer substance successful Hollywood?

Theaters and container offices got a much-needed boost this play acknowledgment to superhero flick “Black Adam” and romanticist drama “Ticket to Paradise” — 2 films led by large stars.

Let’s commencement with the victor of the weekend: “Black Adam.”

The Warner Bros. film, which stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson arsenic a almighty superhero, took the No. 1 spot astatine the home container bureau with an estimated $67 million. That is the largest home opening ever for Johnson successful a starring role.

It’s besides a overmuch needed triumph for theaters, which person been successful a adust spell lately owed to a deficiency of blockbusters. The debut of “Black Adam” is the largest opening astatine the container bureau since July’s “Thor: Love & Thunder.” (Warner Bros., similar CNN, is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.)

The film, which comes with a $195 cardinal budget, was led by Johnson who is 1 of the much recognizable stars successful Hollywood astatine a clip erstwhile contented and characters are much bankable than large names. He has besides starred successful lucrative franchises specified arsenic Fast & Furious and Jumanji.

Coming successful astatine No. 2 is Universal Pictures’ “Ticket to Paradise.” The film, which was made for $60 cardinal and stars George Clooney and Julia Roberts arsenic exes attending their daughter’s tropical wedding, brought successful an estimated $16.3 cardinal astatine the home container office.

Now $16.3 cardinal whitethorn not look similar the biggest full successful the world, but it’s notable since romanticist comedies person go a mostly dormant genre astatine the container office. In fact, Universal suffered a acceptable backmost conscionable a fewer weeks agone erstwhile “Bros.,” different romanticist comedy, flopped astatine the container office.

Billy Eichner, the prima of “Bros.,” said pursuing the film’s disappointing debut that “straight people, particularly successful definite parts of the country, conscionable didn’t amusement up for Bros.,” which was the archetypal cheery rom-com to beryllium produced and distributed by a large workplace with a wide theatrical release.

That whitethorn person been a factor, but it besides apt wounded that the movie lacked immoderate large stars, portion “Ticket to Paradise” was led by 2 of the biggest names successful Hollywood implicit the past 30 years.

The movie has made $96.6 cardinal globally truthful far, according to Universal.

Ultimately, movie stars whitethorn not mean arsenic overmuch arsenic they utilized to successful Hollywood, but they tin inactive assistance merchantability tickets, according to Paul Dergarabedian, elder media expert astatine Comscore (SCOR).

“Star powerfulness is live and good with the apical 2 films intelligibly benefiting from the marque designation and large surface entreaty of the likes of Johnson, Roberts and Clooney,” Dergarabedian told CNN Business. “Though galore person discounted the value of having large stars top-lining a movie, this play shows that having actors with existent movie prima credentials tin pb to container bureau success.”