Mel Gibson’s ‘Flight Risk’ starring Mark Wahlberg tops box office
This image released by Lionsgate shows Michelle Dockery, left, and Mark Wahlberg in a scene from “Flight Risk.” (Lionsgate via AP)
LOS ANGELES – Mel Gibson’s action-thriller “Flight Risk,” starring Mark Wahlberg and Michelle Dockery, stands atop the box office with a weekend gross of $12 million to lead all films in North America, according to industry estimates released Sunday.
The Lionsgate release sits above “Mufasa: The Lion King,” which earned $8.7 million Friday through Sunday in its sixth week in theaters, Comscore reported.
“One of Them Days,” Sony’s comedy starring Keke Palmer and SZA, earned $8 million for third place in its second weekend.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” was fourth with $5.5 million in its sixth weekend, followed by “Moana 2,” in fifth place with $4.3 million.
Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases were “Presence” ($3.4 million), “Wolf Man” ($3.4 million), “A Complete Unknown” ($3.1 million), “Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” ($3 million), and “The Brutalist’ ($2.9 million).
“Flight Risk,” which marks Mel Gibson‘s first directorial effort in nearly a decade, premiered on Jan. 24 to $4.4 million, nearly double the gross of the day’s next-highest earner, the Keke Palmer-SZA comedy “One of Them Days,” which took home $2.3 million.
Wahlberg plays a pilot transporting an Air Marshal (Michelle Dockery) accompanying a fugitive (Topher Grace) to trial. As they cross the Alaskan wilderness, tensions soar and trust is tested, as not everyone on board is who they seem.
The film topped the weekend box office but failed to earn much critical acclaim.
Variety’s Todd Gilchrist called the film a “crude, unimaginative, suspenseless adventure whose tension mostly derives from deciding which of its three main characters will prove the most unlikable by the time it ends.”
AP’s movie critic Mark Kennedy described the movie as a “truly forgettable thriller-comedy.”
“You’ve heard of slow-motion car crashes? Just substitute a plane,” he wrote. “What do you get when you put a U.S. Marshal, a fugitive and an unhinged pilot in a small plane? We don’t know but get out your barf bag.” (With CNS report)
