‘A Quiet Place’ bounces back to No. 1 at box office

LOS ANGELES - It’s another weekend of buzz versus pure star power at the box office as the word-of-mouth sensation “A Quiet Place” finds itself neck-and-neck again with Dwayne Johnson’s “Rampage.” This time buzz had the slight advantage.

Studio estimates on Sunday have placed “A Quiet Place,” with $22 million, in first, and “Rampage” in second with $21 million, but it’s possible those numbers may shift when final results are tallied on Monday.

Still, John Krasinski’s “A Quiet Place” continues to be a mini phenomenon. With a $17 million production budget, “A Quiet Place” has grossed $132.4 million from North American theaters in three weeks. “Rampage,” too, is down only 41 percent domestically in its second weekend and continues to rake in the dollars globally. The film boasts a worldwide tally of $283 million, and Johnson has continued using his social media accounts to hype the film and thank audiences.

“I never take success like this for granted. Global success like this means so much,” Johnson posted on his Instagram account Saturday night. “I’m not a Marvel movie. It’s not Star Wars. ‘Rampage’ may as well have been called ‘Dwayne Johnson and his albino gorilla friend’ because it’s such an obscure video game…Thank you guys so much.”

The staying power of both somewhat overshadowed the newcomers, like Amy Schumer’s “I Feel Pretty” and the sequel to the 2001 cult comedy “Super Troopers,” both of which nevertheless managed to find their own niche audiences despite largely negative reviews.

The box office remains down about 2.4 percent from last year, but that will change next week.

“We’re going to see a huge turnaround later this week in the box office fortunes with ‘Avengers: Infinity War,’” Dergarabedian said.

The film is tracking to make over $200 million in its first weekend in theaters, leading some experts to wonder whether the superhero flick could have the highest opening of all time, beating out even “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”

AP