Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk kept The Emoji Movie at bay to claim the top spot at the domestic box office for the second straight week. Dunkirk is not your typical war movie, and the PG-13 thriller has brought in a tremendous audience for a movie about World War II in addition to scoring highly with critics. Sony's The Emoji Movie, meanwhile, was one of the weekend's major new releases but opened to an abysmal critical reaction.

The only other possible competition to beat Warner Bros.' Dunkirk for No. 1 was Focus Features' Atomic Blonde, which stars Charlize Theron as a secret agent going on a mission to Cold War Berlin. While The Emoji Movie didn't totally flop, it certainly didn't have a strong-enough opening weekend to outlast Dunkirk in its second week of release as Nolan's impeccably filmed epic has once again finished at the top.

Variety report that Dunkirk scored another $28.1 million from 3,748 theaters to finish at No. 1 for the second straight week, adding to its impressive $50.5 million opening. The Emoji Movie lagged behind at $25.7 million for second place, despite playing at 4,075 locations. Universal's Girls Trip is a certified hit, as it dropped by only 36 percent to gross $20.1 million and hold onto a Top 3 spot.

That leaves Atomic Blonde in just fourth place with $18.5 million from 3,304 locations, while Spider-Man: Homecoming is likely to round out the Top 5. Unfortunately for director Luc Besson, his Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets continues to be a major flop domestically, bringing in just $6.5 million despite playing at 3,553 locations. Overshadowed by Dunkirk in its opening weekend, Valerian appears doomed at the U.S. box office but is unlikely to become a true commercial failure due to foreign pre-sales and other factors.

Warner Bros. looks to have timed its release of Dunkirk perfectly, as the movie comes out amid a collection of critical and/or commercial disappointments among most recent releases. As The Emoji Movie got lambasted by critics and earned a B CinemaScore, which is uncommonly low for an animated movie, Dunkirk has ridden a wave of acclaim to huge early success with theatergoers.

Dunkirk's commercial triumph is great for Nolan and Warner Bros., but not a good sign for most other new releases. The Emoji Movie and Atomic Blonde don't appear to be on their way to great success, and the box office would look even worse if The Dark Tower or Detroit can't be true contenders for the crown next weekend. Nonetheless, Dunkirk has a good chance to be one of the most successful World War II movies ever and will be in the hunt come awards season.

Next: The Emoji Movie Review

Source: Variety

Key Release Dates