LOS ANGELES (AP) – Family friendly won out over adult fare at the box office this weekend.
The PG-rated “Goosebumps,” based on R.L. Stine’s popular book series, took first place in its debut with $23.6 million, beating Steven Spielberg’s Cold War thriller “Bridge of Spies” and Guillermo del Toro’s gothic romance “Crimson Peak.”
“Goosebumps” also ended the chart-topping reign of Ridley Scott’s “The Martian.” Its $21.3 million weekend earned the film the second-place box office spot and bumped its domestic total to an otherworldly $143.6 million.
“Bridge of Spies,” which reunites Spielberg with Tom Hanks, opened in third place with $15.4 million. It’s the worst debut for the pairing to date, but older audiences could eventually help the well-reviewed movie, which cost a modest $40 million to produce.
“Crimson Peak” also failed to attract a significant opening weekend audience. The R-rated horror film brought in a scarily low $13.1 million and will likely drop off significantly after poor audience reception. Legendary produced the film for $55 million.