Jason Statham’s 'Beekeeper' buzzes to top of N.America box office

Amazon/MGM action picture “The Beekeeper”, starring Jason Statham, flew to the top of the North American box office on a slow winter weekend with an estimated take of $7.4 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday.

“‘The Beekeeper’ is a hit,” said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. “This is not a routine action thriller; those movies disappear fast. The Beekeeper is series material.”

He predicted the film, made for an estimated $40 million and in only its third week out, could ultimately net $150 million worldwide.

Tough guy Jason Statham plays the beekeeper in question, an ex-commando seeking revenge against a criminal group whose cruel scams lead to the suicide of his friend (Phylicia Rashad).

“Beekeeper” only narrowly edged out last weekend’s top film, Paramount’s “Mean Girls,” which took in an estimated $7.3 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period in the US and Canada. That brings its domestic total in three weeks out to $60.8 million — not bad for a film made for around $36 million.

The tale of high school survival stars Angourie Rice, Renee Rapp, Auli’i Cravalho, Avantika and Bebe Wood, as well as Tina Fey, the writer behind both this film and the 2004 original.

In third, showing exceptional strength in its seventh week out, was Warner Bros.’ fantasy musical “Wonka” at $5.9 million. Timothee Chalamet plays the eccentric chocolate maker in a cast that includes Olivia Colman and Hugh Grant. Made for $100 million, “Wonka” has grossed just over $550 million worldwide.

Flying steady in fourth was “Migration,” a family-friendly animation from Universal and Illumination about the misadventures of a family of traveling mallard ducks. It took in $5.2 million, pushing it just over the $100 million mark in North America.

And in fifth, at $4.8 million, was Sony rom-com “Anyone But You,” starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell. The sleeper hit has rolled up totals of $71.2 million domestically and $55 million overseas for a total $126.2 million.

For the second weekend in a row, there were no major new studio releases.

Rounding out this weekend’s top 10 were:

“Fighter” ($3.8 million)

“Poor Things” ($3 million)

“American Fiction” ($2.9 million)

“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” ($2.8 million)

“Godzilla Minus One” ($2.6 million)