'Night School' tops weekend box office

LOS ANGELES: Kevin Hart and Tiffany Haddish's "Night School" debuted with $28 million in ticket sales. It is the first time in two years that a comedy topped the box office.Warner Bros′ animated release "Smallfoot", which costs about $80 million making, trailed in second with $23 million.Not since Melissa McCarthy's "The Boss" topped the box office in April 2016 has a comedy that didn't mix other genre elements been No 1.The romantic comedy "Crazy Rich Asians" was a huge success, leading the box office for four straight weeks, and Tyler Perry's two horror-comedies — "Boo! A Madea Halloween" and its sequel — both opened at the top.But big-screen comedy has been in a tailspin for years. It took two of comedy's biggest names teaming up to push Universal's "Night School" to the year's best comedy opening.More than most studios, Universal has stuck by comedy. This year, it also released the prom-night farce "Blockers" ($60.1 million worldwide on a $21 million budget) and the comic musical "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" ($390.1 million worldwide on a $75 million budget).It's the second straight No 1 for Universal, which last week led ticket sales with the Amblin Entertainment-produced fantasy "The House With a Clock in Its Walls." It earned $12.5 million in its second weekend."Night School," in which Hart plays a man who returns to his high school to get his GED certificate (Haddish plays his teacher), fared poorly with critics, earning a 30 percent "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But the draw of Hart and Haddish was enough to supersede bad reviews. This is Hart's 11th No. 1 film.It also helped that "Night School" reteamed Haddish with director Malcolm D. Lee. Their "Girls' Trip" was 2017′s biggest comedy hit, making $140.4 million globally. "Night School" drew a diverse audience: 37 percent white, 30 percent African-American and 24 percent Hispanic.The "Night School"-led weekend — up 15.5 percent compared with last year — helped Hollywood score the second-best September at the box office. It follows September 2017, when "It" set records. Warner Bros.′ horror spinoff "The Nun" was this month's top film.Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday also are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.1. "Night School," $28 million ($5.5 million international).2. "Smallfoot," $23 million.3. "The House With a Clock in Its Walls," $12.5 million.4. "A Simple Favor," $6.6 million.5. "The Nun," $5.4 million.6. "Hell Fest," $5.1 million.7. "Crazy Rich Asians," $4.2 million.8. "The Predator," $3.7 million.9. "White Boy Rick," $2.4 million.10. "Peppermint," $1.8 million.

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