Wonder Woman 1984 maintains lead in North American box office

Warner Bros' superheroine film Wonder Woman 1984 took the top spot in the North American box office for a second-straight weekend with an estimated $5.5 million from 2,151 locations, according to studio figures collected by industry tracker Comscore.

The film has earned $28.5 million in North America since it was released simultaneously in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming platform on Christmas Day.

With a reported cost of $200 million, the blockbuster is a sequel to Wonder Woman, a massive critical and commercial hit in 2017, which grossed $822 million in the global box office. With director Patty Jenkins back at the helm and Gal Gadot returning in the title role, the film follows Diana Prince as she battles two formidable foes during the Cold War.

Wonder Woman 1984 debuted in international markets a week earlier than the United States. The film has grossed $90 million overseas for a global total of $118.5 million to date.

China, now home to the world's biggest film box office, is one of the major international markets for Wonder Woman 1984. The film has grossed 163 million yuan ($25 million) after 17 days on the Chinese mainland, according to box-office data compiled by Maoyan, a Chinese movie-ticketing and film-data platform.

Universal Pictures and Dream-Works' animated adventure comedy film The Croods: A New Age came in second with $2.18 million from 1,751 locations in its sixth weekend.

Helmed by Joel Crawford, the film with a reported budget of $65 million features the voice talent of returning stars, including Nicolas Cage and Catherine Keener.

The sequel to 2013's original film follows the prehistoric Crood family who sets off into the world in search of a safer place to live and meets another family that's a couple of steps above the Croods on the evolutionary ladder.

Universal Pictures' drama film News of the World landed in third with $1.69 million from 1,928 locations in its second weekend for a North American total of $5.4 million.

Directed by Paul Greengrass and starring Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel, the film is based on the 2016 best-selling novel of the same name by Paulette Jiles.

The plot follows a widowed Civil War veteran, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, who must return a 10-year-old girl who was taken in and raised by natives as an infant to her last remaining family. As they travel hundreds of miles into the unforgiving wilderness, the two will face challenges of both human and natural forces as they search for a place that either can call home.