Hollywood sees worst weekend in film box office in years

NEW YORK -- Hollywood effectively took the weekend off, resulting in one of the most dismal box-office results in 16 years.

An already slow August came to a screeching halt at the multiplex, where no major new releases were unveiled.

That left the Samuel Jackson-Ryan Reynolds action-comedy "The Hitman's Bodyguard" to top all films for the second week with an estimated $10.1 million in ticket sales.

But the entire slate of films grossed only $65 million in North America, and the top 12 films generated just $49.6 million. There have been similarly slow weekends in recent years, including early September in 2014 and in 2016. But not since September 2001 have the numbers been so dreadful.

Mid-August through early September is historically the sleepiest time of the year for the movie business, and it's been especially so this year. This August is down 35 percent from last year, according to comScore. Next week is expected to be as bad: No new wide releases are scheduled for Labor Day weekend.

For many, the weekend's top entertainment option was Saturday night's Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor match. The Fathom Events simulcast of the fight was one of the most popular offerings in theaters, taking in $2.4 million from 481 screens.

But the bigger problem was the dearth of significant releases. The six major studios have released only two new, wide-release films in August: Sony's poorly received Stephen King adaptation "The Dark Tower" and Warner Bros.' successful horror spinoff sequel "Annabelle: Creation." The latter came in second this weekend with $7.4 million, bringing its three-week total to $77.9 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters according to comScore.

1. "The Hitman's Bodyguard," $10 million ($9.1 million international).

2. "Annabelle: Creation," $7.4 million ($22 million international).

3. "Leap!" $5 million.

4. "Wind River," $4.4 million.

5. "Logan Lucky," $4.4 million ($1.6 million international).

6. "Dunkirk," $4 million ($5.6 million international).

7. "Spider-man: Homecoming," $2.7 million ($2.8 million international).

8. "Birth of the Dragon," $2.5 million.

9. "Mayweather vs. McGregor," $2.4 millon.

10. "The Emoji Movie," $2.4 million ($7.2 million international).