‘Now You See Me: Now You Don’t’ leads box office with $21.3 million

LOS ANGELES – “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” opened with $21.3 million this weekend to lead all films in North America, pulling off a surprise victory over the big-budget reboot of “The Running Man,” according to industry estimates released Sunday.

The third entry in the light-hearted franchise about a group of illusionists comes almost a full decade after 2016’s “Now You See Me 2,” and stars series regulars Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan and Morgan Freeman.

“The Running Man” stars Glen Powell in a role played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1987’s original. The new sci-fi thriller was directed by Edgar Wright and grossed a disappointing $17 million in its opening weekend, Comscore reported.

“Predator: Badlands” made $13 million Friday through Sunday in its second week in theaters.

The romantic drama “Regretting You” was fourth with $4 million in its fourth week, followed by “Black Phone 2” with $2.65 million in its fifth week.

Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases were “Nuremberg” ($2.6 million), “Keeper” ($2.5 million), “Sarah’s Oil” ($2.34 million), “Bugonia” ($1.6 million) and “Chainsaw Man” ($1.6 million).

This weekend’s overall three-day box office haul was estimated at $75.5 million. The year-to date total is $7.28 billion — up 3% from the figure at this time last year, according to Comscore.

“Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” does what sequels apparently must do these days — load up the characters, return to favorite bits and go global — but nails the trick, a crowd-pleasing return that already has a fourth in the works.

The movie starts off with a clever rip-off of nasty crypto bros in Brooklyn and expands to scenes in Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, France and South Africa. It’s got Nazis, “Harry Potter” vibes and some Louvre museum heist energy.

The original Four Horsemen — Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher — are supplemented by Lizzy Caplan, who had replaced Fisher in the second installment. Morgan Freeman returns as the gravel-voiced mentor. (With CNS and AP reports)

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