‘Joker’ laughs at top of US box office

Warner Bros.’ ‘Joker’ won a battle of the supervillains this weekend, selling an estimated $18.9 million in tickets to edge out ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’ and regain the top spot in North American theatres, an industry group reported Sunday.

The Joaquin Phoenix scarefest slipped from last weekend’s take of $29.2 million for the Friday-to-Sunday period, but still bested the $18.5 million taken in by ‘Maleficent,’ a dark fantasy from Disney starring Angelina Jolie.

‘Joker’, with Phoenix incarnating Batman’s notorious nemesis, accomplished the rare feat of returning to No. 1 in its fourth week out. It has now taken in an impressive $849.1 million globally, becoming the most successful R-rated movie in history, according to Variety.

With Halloween only days away, scary movies did well overall.

In third spot was ‘The Addams Family’ from United Artists, at $11.7 million. The computer animation, following the spooky Addams family and some creepy relatives, features the voices of Oscar Isaac, Charlize Theron, Snoop Dogg and Bette Midler.

In fourth, at $11.6 million in its second week out, was Sony’s ‘Zombieland: Double Tap’, a comedy starring Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone and Luke Wilson.

New release ‘Countdown’ from STX films placed fifth at $9 million. The low-budget horror film tells the tale of a nurse (Elizabeth Lail) who finds an app that predicts exactly when people will die—and learns her own death is only days away.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

‘Black and Blue’ ($8.3 million)

‘Gemini Man’ ($4 million)

‘The Lighthouse’ ($3.1 million)

‘The Current War: Director’s Cut’ ($2.7 million)

‘Abominable’ ($2 million)