‘Kingsman’ dethrones ‘It’ with $39M debut

‘Kingsman’ dethrones ‘It’ with $39M debut

NEW YORK

The R-rated spy comedy “Kingsman: The Golden Circle” displaced the horror sensation “It” as the No. 1 film in North America, while the second “Lego Movie” spinoff of the year didn’t assemble the expected audience.

The 20th Century Fox release opened with a weekend-leading $39 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday. But “It” still continues to pull in record crowds. With $30 million over the weekend, “It” is now the highest-grossing horror film of all time, not accounting for inflation, with $266.3 million thus far. (1973’s “The Exorcist” grossed $232.9 million domestically, or more than $1 billion in 2017 dollars.)

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers also are included. Final domestic figures will be released today.

1. “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” $39 million ($61 million international).

2. “It,” $30 million ($38.3 million international).

3. “The Lego Ninjago Movie,” $21.2 million ($10.5 million international).

4. “American Assassin,” $6.3 million ($2.7 million international).

5. “Home Again,” $3.3 million.

Timberlake declares love for Tennessee

FRANKLIN, Tenn.

Memphis native Justin Timberlake returned to his home state for one of his few performances this year to declare his love for Tennessee.

Timberlake performed Saturday in Franklin, Tenn., at the Pilgrimage Festival, a 3-year-old music festival that he now co-produces and is conveniently close to his current home in Middle Tennessee.

The pop singer and actor joked to the capacity crowd of more than 25,000 fans that he was nervous about performing at home.

“Half of you I might be related to,” Timberlake said.

He surprised the crowd by reuniting with country star Chris Stapleton and his wife Morgane, after their breakout performance with Timberlake on the 2015 Country Music Association Awards.

The three sang “Tennessee Whiskey,” a country song made famous by George Jones and now Stapleton. They also sang “Fire Away,” and “Sometimes I Cry,” both from Stapleton’s multiplatinum record “Traveller.”

The addition of Timberlake as a performer helped boost attendance numbers for the new music festival, about 30 minutes south of Nashville.

Timberlake closed out the performance with his hit songs “SexyBack,” “Rock Your Body,” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling.”

Associated Press