HOLLYWOOD — A horror comedy about a clock counting down to doomsday chimed in at the top of the North American box office last weekend, industry estimates showed on Sunday.

Universal’s family film The House with a Clock in Its Walls clocked up US$26.9 million over its debut three-day weekend, the industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said. Jack Black and Cate Blanchett star alongside young Owen Vaccaro as Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan sent to live with his warlock uncle.

In its second week, A Simple Favor jumped a notch to second place. Lionsgate’s tale about a mommy blogger (Anna Kendrick) investigating the disappearance of her friend (Blake Lively) earned $10.4 million. Just a shade below with $10.3 million, Warner Bros.’ The Nun dropped to third place.

The latest fright fest in the popular Conjuring series stars Taissa Farmiga -- whose sister Vera headlined two Conjuring films -- in a story about a young nun, an exorcist and a guide stumbling onto a dark secret deep in Dracula country in the 1950s.

After slaying the box office at number one, sci-fi action movie The Predator fell to fourth place with earnings of $8.7 million.

A Fox reboot of the franchise’s original production that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, the film’s $24.6 million opening weekend haul did not meet expectations.

Glitzy rom-com Crazy Rich Asians, another Warner Bros. product, held on to fifth place with $6.5 million. The film, with a nearly all-Asian cast led by Henry Golding and Constance Wu, has a rich North American take of $159.4 million in its six-week run. — AFP