Raya and the Last Dragon rules the box office for a third weekend

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

This dragon ain't draggin'!

Disney's animated fantasy RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON continued its flight pattern atop the box office for a third weekend with an estimated $5.2 million.

Thanks in part to a boost from theaters in Los Angeles reopening last week, Disney's PG-rated release came close to last weekend's $5.5 million box office figure (although the movie is still not screening in Cinemark and some other theater chains due to disagreements over exhibition terms).

The Asian-inspired adventure, about a warrior (Kelly Marie Tran) and a dragon (Awkwafina) trying to save the realm of Kumandra, has a domestic total of $23.4 million and a worldwide total of $71.2 million. The movie can also be viewed on the Disney+ streaming service, for subscribers willing to fork over an extra 30 bucks.

The Warner Bros. half-toon comedy TOM & JERRY was in second place with $3.8 million on its fourth weekend. The PG-rated animated/live-action hybrid starring the classic Hanna/Barbera characters now has a domestic total of $33.6 million and $77.1 million worldwide, on a reported cost of $79 million.

In third place was the new Cold War spy thriller THE COURIER with an opening weekend of $2.01 million.

The fact-based espionage tale follows a businessman (Benedict Cumberbatch) recruited by MI6 and the CIA in the 1960s. The PG-13 Roadside Attractions release premiered at Sundance in January 2020 (with the title IRONBARK) and was originally planned for theaters last August before shifting due to the pandemic.

Critics found the true tale to be generally effective, giving the movie an average of 84% on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 62. Go undercover with the JoBlo review HERE.

The PG-13 sci-fi thriller CHAOS WALKING was in fourth place with $1.92 million. After three weekends, director Doug Liman's adventure with Tom Holland and Daisy Ridley has a domestic total of $9.6 million and $13.8 million worldwide, on reported $100 million cost.

In fifth place was the PG-rated animated sequel THE CROODS: A NEW AGE with $620,000, a slight uptick from last weekend. The $65 million Universal release is the rare pandemic success story, gathering a domestic total of $55.2 million and $160 million worldwide after 17 weeks on screens.

In sixth place was R-rated basketball drama BOOGIE for a $3.2 million domestic total after three weekends, followed by the Liam Neeson action-thriller THE MARKSMAN, now at $14.2 million on its tenth weekend.

The superhero sequel WONDER WOMAN 1984 was in eighth place over its thirteenth weekend on screens, with the Olivia Coleman/Anthony Hopkins Oscar hopeful THE FATHER and the Denzel Washington/Jared Leto/Rami Malek crime-thriller THE LITTLE THINGS wrapping things up for the weekend.

Outside the chart was another Academy Award contender, as the acclaimed Steven Yeun drama MINARI added another 500 screens, taking in $306,000 to give it a domestic total of $1.4 million from its limited run over the last few weeks.

Also finally seeing release on 500 screens was the Johnny Depp crime drama CITY OF LIES, quietly collecting $275,000. Directed by Brad Furman (THE LINCOLN LAWYER), the R-rated movie about the homicide investigations of Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur was originally planned for release way back in 2018 before getting yanked from the schedule. You can investigate the JoBlo review HERE.

And although it only made it to home theaters (via Warner Bros.' streaming platform HBO Max), Zack Snyder's super-sized director's cut of JUSTICE LEAGUE finally arrived after much fan insistence and anticipation.

Even with its intimidating four-hour runtime, critics considered the costumed epic to be a major improvement over the original 2017 Joss Whedon version, giving it an average of 74% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 55 score on Metacritic. Fly on over to the JoBlo review HERE.

While there's still no concrete announcement for the updated DC Comics superhero saga to hit theaters (particularly the IMAX screens it was formatted for), a Blu-ray release is planned for some parts of the world in May, and a black-and-white alternate version (called ZACK SNYDER'S JUSTICE LEAGUE: JUSTICE IS GREY) will be released on HBO Max.

Next weekend offers "Better Call Saul" Bob Odenkirk getting his hands bloody in the action-thriller NOBODY, followed on March 31 by the creature-feature GODZILLA VS. KONG (which stomps onto HBO Max the same day).

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