‘Boo 2! A Madea Halloween’ leads a lackluster box office

Newcomers dominated the box office this weekend as Lionsgate’s comedy “Tyler Perry’s Boo 2! A Madea Halloween” and Warner Bros.’ sci-fi spectacle “Geostorm” debuted in the top two spots.

Perry’s sequel debuted in first place, raking in an estimated $21.6 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to figures from measurement firm ComScore.

The PG-13 film, which reviewer Kimber Myers calls “the cinematic equivalent of getting Necco Wafers in your trick-or-treating bucket,” follows the antics of Perry’s popular character Madea who is tasked with protecting her grand-niece at a haunted campground. “Boo 2!” garnered mixed reviews from audiences and critics, earning an A- rating on CinemaScore and a dismal 8% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Warner Bros.’ environmental disaster thriller “Geostorm” came in at No. 2, raining in $13.3 million in its first week.

Co-financed by Skydance and Rat-Pac Dune and directed by Dean Devlin, the film stars Gerard Butler as an arrogant technician tasked with preventing a network of satellites that stabilize our climate from glitching. The PG-13 film, which also stars Abbie Cornish, Ed Harris and Jim Sturgess, was also unpopular among audiences and critics, earning a lackluster 13% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a below average B- rating on CinemaScore.

Coming in third was Blumhouse’s horror film “Happy Death Day” which brought in $9.4 million in its second week — a 64% drop in earnings since last week — for a cumulative total of $40.7 million.

The $5-million film, a bloody riff on the classic “Groundhog Day” concept, follows a woman who relives the day of her murder until she learns her killer’s identity. The latest from producer Jason Blum and Universal Pictures, “Happy Death Day” earned a B rating on CinemaScore and a 68% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Blade Runner 2049” by Alcon Entertainment came in fourth, adding $7.1 million to its earnings (a 54% drop) in its third week for a cumulative total of $74 million.

A sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi cult classic “Blade Runner,” about a futuristic society where androids known as replicants are almost indistinguishable from humans, the $150-million film earned an A- rating on CinemaScore and an 88% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film was directed by Denis Villeneuve and stars Ryan Gosling and Jared Leto, with Harrison Ford reprising his role as Deckard.

Rounding out the top five was Sony’s firestorm drama “Only the Brave,” which brought in $6 million in its first week. Starring Josh Brolin and Jeff Bridges, the film chronicles the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of Arizona firefighters who battled one of the deadliest wildfires in history. “Only the Brave” was a hit with both audiences and critics, earning an A rating on CinemaScore and a 90% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Miles Teller, Taylor Kitsch and Jennifer Connelly also star.

Also new this week, Universal’s Michael Fassbender-led thriller “The Snowman” debuted at no. 8 with $3.4 million. Fassbender stars as a detective tasked with tracking down a serial killer who likes to hack up women’s bodies and scatter the pieces as clues. Charlotte Gainsbourg, J.K. Simmons, Val Kilmer and Chloe Sevigny also star.

An adaptation of one of Norwegian writer Jo Nesbø’s crime novels, the film, which reviewer Justin Chang called “a wretched waste of time and talent from the Swedish director Tomas Alfredson,” earned an unprecedented D rating on CinemaScore and an abysmal 9% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

PureFlix’s faith-based drama “Same Kind of Different as Me,” also premiered this week with $2.6 million. Starring Djimon Hounsou, Greg Kinnear and Renee Zellweger, the film follows a Texas art dealer and his wife as they befriend a troubled homeless man. The film earned a 20% “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In limited release, A24 opened “The Killing of the Sacred Deer” in four locations with $114,585, for a per-theater average of $28,646. The film, which follows a surgeon who befriends a fatherless teen to frightening results, stars Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman and Alicia Silverstone and earned a 75% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions premiered “Wonderstruck” in four locations with $68,762, for a per-theater average of $17,190. The film follows two children, separated by decades, as they embark on parallel journeys to fill gaps in their lives. It earned a 69% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Next week, Lionsgate opens the horror sequel “Jigsaw”; Paramount debuts the crime comedy “Suburbicon”; and Universal premieres the drama “Thank You for Your Service,” starring Miles Teller. Magnolia Pictures also unveils the comedy “The Square” in limited release.

sonaiya.kelley@latimes.com

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