'Super Mario' fights off 'Evil Dead' to stay on top in N.America

'Super Mario' fights off 'Evil Dead' to stay on top in N.America, Source: youtube/ Warner Bros. Pictures

The joint effort of Universal, Nintendo and Illumination studios, now in its third week out, ranks as the year's top movie so far, taking in an accumulated $434.3 million domestically and $437 million internationally.

Voice actors in the game-based animation include Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black and Keegan-Michael Key.

Second place for the Friday-through-Sunday period went to Warner Bros.' blood-soaked horror movie "Evil Dead Rise," at $23.5 million -- "an excellent opening" for a movie made for just $17 million, said analyst David A. Gross.

Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland star as sisters battling a crew of demonic creatures known, not so subtly, as Deadites.

Another new release, MGM's action war movie "Guy Ritchie's The Covenant," didn't fare quite as well, taking in an estimated $6.3 million for third spot. Gross said that "weak start" fell well short of the average for the genre.

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in the film's tale of a US army sergeant who, after returning to the United States, goes back to Afghanistan to rescue a friend (played by Iraq-born Dar Salim) who had once saved him from the Taliban.

In fourth place, still strong in its fifth week out, was Lionsgate's neo-noir thriller "John Wick: Chapter 4," at $5.8 million. Keanu Reeves plays the titular hitman.

And in fifth was Amazon Studios' "Air," a sports drama about the business deal surrounding Nike and the Michael Jordan basketball shoe of the title name, at $5.5 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" ($5.4 million)

"The Pope's Exorcist" ($3.3 million)

"Renfield" ($3.1 million)

"Beau Is Afraid" ($2.7 million)

"Suzume" ($1.6 million)