‘Ready Player One’ Dominates Weekend Box Office

Warner Bros. “Ready Player One” a sci-fi adventure drenched in layers of pop culture references, dominated the weekend box office, generating an $41.2M in North American theaters and $169.2M on its debut weekend, according to estimates compiled by comScore.Directed by Steven Spielberg and adapted from Ernest Cline’s 2011 novel of the same name, “Ready Player One” cast two relative unknowns — Tye Sheridan and Olivia Cooke — in a tale about a treasure hunt in a dystopian virtual world.The film, which cost an estimated $150 million to produce, was a gamble for Warner in this era of superhero retreads, and Spielberg, who is now 71, seemed like an unlikely pick for a movie so steeped in modern video game and pop culture.While Spielberg helped to put ‘blockbuster’ in the modern film lexicon, he hasn’t produced anything close to that category since 2008’s lamentable ““Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and in more recent years, has focused his considerable directing capability on thoughtful historical dramas, such as “Bridge of Spies.”Last weekend’s box office champ “Pacific Rim Uprising” slid to #2, adding an estimated $40.6M, though it nearly vanished in North American cinemas, adding what must surely be a very disappointing $9.2M over the weekend.Also opening this weekend was Tyler Perry’s return to cinema, with his latest entry “Acrimony” a psychological thriller starring Taraji Henson, scaring up an estimated $17.1M in its debut weekend.The top 12 worldwide weekend box office estimates, listed in descending order, per data collected by comScore as of Sunday, April 1, are below.Ready Player One – Warner Bros. – $169.2MPacific Rim Uprising – Multiple – $40.6MPeter Rabbit – Sony – $34.1MBlack Panther – Disney – $19.0MTyler Perry’s Acrimony – Lionsgate – $17.1MTomb Raider – Warner Bros. – $16.7MBaaghi 2 – Multiple – $15.8MI Can Only Imagine – Multiple – $11.0MSherlock Gnomes – Paramount Pictures – $9.5MWrinkle In Time, A – Disney – $9.5MGonjiam: Haunted Asylum – Showbox / Mediaplex Inc. – $8.5MNothing To Lose (Part 1) – Downtown files/Paris Filmes – $7.1MThe top 12 domestic weekend box office estimates, listed in descending order, per data collected by comScore as of Sunday, April 1, are below.Ready Player One – Warner Bros. – $41.2MTyler Perry’s Acrimony – Lionsgate – $17.1MBlack Panther – Disney – $11.3MI Can Only Imagine – Roadside Attractions – $10.8MPacific Rim Uprising – Universal – $9.2MSherlock Gnomes – Paramount – $7.0MLove, Simon – 20th Century Fox – $4.8MTomb Raider – Warner Bros. – $4.7MWrinkle In Time, A – Disney – $4.7MPaul, Apostle Of Christ – Sony – $3.5MIsle Of Dogs – Fox Searchlight – $2.8MGod’s Not Dead: A Light In Darkness – Pure Flix – $2.6M– CelebrityAccess