'It' scares up box office glory for 2 weeks

The Warner Bros film, based on a Stephen King novel and starring Bill Skarsgard as a creepy clown who terrorises a sleepy Maine town, earned an estimated US$60.1 million for the three-day weekend, bringing its domestic total to US$218.8 million in only two weeks, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Trailing far behind were two new releases, American Assassin from CBS Films/Lionsgate, at US$14.8 million, and mother! which took in just US$7.5 million in ticket sales despite the star power of Jennifer Lawrence.

Assassin stars Dylan O'Brien as a CIA "black ops" recruit who teams up with crusty veteran agent Michael Keaton to try to prevent terrorists from starting a war.

Paramount's mother! earned a dubious distinction: the lowest opening gross for a Lawrence film in wide release. A psychological thriller from Darren Aronofsky, it likely suffered from going head-to-head against It.

In the film, Lawrence and her husband, played by Javier Bardem, see their tranquil lives upended when strangers (Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer) show up at their country home.

The movie drew a rare "F" from the ComScore website, despite a relatively strong 69 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Aronofsky earned critical acclaim for earlier films, including Black Swan (2010), The Wrestler (2008), Requiem for a Dream (2000) and Pi (1998).

In fourth place was Home Again from Open Road Films, with a take of US$5.2 million. The romantic comedy stars Reese Witherspoon as a recently separated woman whose life changes when she lets three young men move in.

And in fifth was The Hitman's Bodyguard, at US$3.6 million. The action comedy stars Ryan Reynolds as a bodyguard hired to protect a notorious hitman played by Samuel L Jackson.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

Annabelle: Creation (US$2.4 million)

Wind River (US$2.6 million)

Leap! (US$2.2 million)

Spider-Man: Homecoming (US$1.9 million)

Dunkirk (US$1.3 million)