‘First Man’ blasts off behind ‘Venom’ and ‘A Star Is Born’

‘First Man’ blasts off behind ‘Venom’ and ‘A Star Is Born’

LOS ANGELES

The Neil Armstrong film “First Man” settled for a third-place landing at the North American box office in its opening weekend in theaters. The Ryan Gosling-starrer couldn’t unseat last week’s top two films, “Venom” and “A Star Is Born,” which again took first and second place.

Studios estimated Sunday that “First Man” earned $16.5 million in ticket sales from 3,640 North American theaters, and $25 million worldwide.

The comic-book film “Venom,” meanwhile, added $35.7 million in ticket sales, down 56 percent from its first weekend, to repeat at No. 1. The film has earned $142.8 million to date from North American theaters.

Bradley Cooper’s “A Star Is Born” continued to ride a wave of goodwill and awards buzz into its second weekend, adding $28 million. With total domestic grosses at $94.2 million, the Warner Bros. pic starring Cooper and Lady Gaga will sail past $100 million in no time.

Rounding out the top five were “Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween,” $16.2 million, fourth place; and “Smallfoot,” $9.3 million, fifth place.

Prince Harry, Meghan arrive in Sydney

SYDNEY

Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, arrived in Sydney today, a day before they officially start a 16-day tour of Australia and the South Pacific.

The trip is their only international tour since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were married in May, apart from a two-day visit to Ireland.

The prince and the former American actress landed on an overcast morning after a commercial flight from London with a brief stopover in Singapore.

They have 76 engagements scheduled over 16 days in Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. In Australia, they will pet a koala in a Sydney zoo, visit in the drought-stricken Outback town of Dubbo and meet indigenous leaders on Fraser Island, the world’s largest sand island, in northeastern Queensland state.

Associated Press