Tom Hanks drama "Sully" lands atop box office

PanARMENIAN.Net - Clint Eastwood's "Sully" lands at North American box office in the first place. The heroic biopic of Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, which stars Tom Hanks in the titular role, collects an estimated $35.5 million on its opening weekend, marking the fifth-best September opening of all time and Eastwood's top debut as a director, AceShowbiz reports.

Also starring Aaron Eckhart and Laura Linney, the drama connects with critics and audiences, who gave it an 83% "fresh" rating at Rotten Tomatoes and an "A" on CinemaScore. "This is what the fall is all about - Oscar contenders, stories with some depth and gravitas - and Hanks and Eastwood delivered that," says comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

Around 82% of the moviegoers are over the age of 25 and 39% have listed Hanks as the reason they watch the movie. "If Tom Hanks ran for president, he'd win," Dergarabedian says. "He has developed such a reputation, consistently doing great work and instilling in the audience a really warm feeling."

Also making its debut is "When the Bough Breaks". The Regina Hall and Moris Chesnut-led thriller opens in the runner-up spot with an estimated $15 million. The mystery "Bough" is "an example of a guilty pleasure not chasing Oscar," says Dergarabedian, adding that it's another successful early fall mashup of romance, horror and suspense with a predominantly African-American cast after "The Perfect Guy", which topped the box office a year ago.

"Don't Breathe" and "Suicide Squad" drop two spots, falling to the third and fourth places respectively. The horror movie earns an estimated $8.2 million in its third week after topping the chart for two weeks in a row, while the DC antihero flick adds another $5.7 million for its domestic total of $307 million in its sixth week.

Rounding out the top five is another newcomer "The Wild Life". The new animated film featuring the voices of Matthias Schweighofer, Aylin Tezel and Ilka Bessin manages to earn approximately $3.4 million in its first week, despite scathing reviews (15% on Rotten Tomatoes).