Shyamalan's 'Split' again rules North America box office

LOS ANGELES: “Split,” the M Night Shyamalan thriller about a man with multiple personalities who locks three teenage girls in an underground bunker, held onto the top spot in the North American box office for a third weekend, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The movie — by the director of the classic horror film “Sixth Sense” — stars James McAvoy as a man with 23 personalities who preys on young girls. It earned an estimated $14.6 million in ticket sales over a three-day weekend in which sales were slowed by football’s Super Bowl, Exhibitor Relations reported.

The cumulative North American total for the film, made on a low $9 million budget, is now $98.7 million. With mostly positive reviews, Forbes magazine has called it “the first outright sensation of 2017.”

In second spot was the Paramount feature “Rings,” which scored $13 million in its first weekend. The film, the latest in a horror franchise that began in 2002 with the money-making “Ring,” tells the story of a videotape that kills those who watch it.

Third spot went to “A Dog’s Purpose,” Universal’s family-friendly flick about a canine who continually comes back to life as different dogs searching for meaning. It took in $10.8 million in its second week.

Some animal lovers had called for a boycott of the film after video footage showed an apparently terrified German shepherd being forced into rushing water on the set.

In fourth place was “Hidden Figures,” Fox’s true-life story of three black women mathematicians who helped NASA put the first men in space. The comedy-drama, starring Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae, took in $10.1 million in its seventh week, for a healthy cumulative total of $119.4 million.

“La La Land,” Lionsgate’s nostalgic tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood musicals, held on to fifth place in its ninth week, with revenue of $7.5 million. Behind the acting, dancing and singing of Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, the film has garnered a boatload of accolades and is a strong favorite at the Oscars.

Rounding out the Top 10 are:

“Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” ($4.5 million)

“Sing” ($4 million)

“Lion” ($4 million)

“The Space Between Us” ($3.8 million)

“xXx: The Return of Xander Cage” ($3.5 million)