The Hitman’s Bodyguard shoots its way to the top of North American box office

The Hitman’s Bodyguard packed a punch at the North American box office over the weekend with an impressive $21.6 million (GBP16.9 million) debut.
The Patrick Hughes film starring Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds did better than expected to beat out competition from director Steven Soderbergh’s star-studded action film Logan Lucky, which stalled at three with just over $8 million (GBP6.2 million).
The heist movie features Daniel Craig, Channing Tatum, Adam Driver and Elvis Presley’s granddaughter Riley Keough.
Horror movie Annabelle: Creation slips to two with a second weekend $15.5 million (GBP12 million) take, while Dunkirk and The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature round out the new top five, and The Emoji Movie, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Girls Trip, The Dark Tower, and Wind River complete the box office top 10.
The success of his new number one movie will come as a little welcome relief for Reynolds, who is still recovering from the death of a stuntwoman on the set of his Deadpool sequel.
The actor led a moment of silence for Joi Harris as production on Deadpool 2 resumed on Wednesday (16Aug17), two days after her death. Harris died after losing control of her motorcycle while performing a stunt as the character Domino, played in the film by actress Zazie Beetz. She crashed through the glass of the Shaw Tower’s ground floor studio in Vancouver, Canada.
Production was immediately shut down as officials launched an investigation into the road racer’s death, but it started up again on Wednesday morning, with the film’s star leading a brief on-set memorial.
Reynolds previously sent his condolences to Harris’ family and friends, stating: “I’m deeply saddened by the loss of one of our stunt performers today. No words can express how I and the rest of the Deadpool 2 crew feel about this tragedy. Our thoughts are with her family, friends and loved ones in this difficult time.”