Moviegoers in the United States voted with their dollars and chose the familiar at the weekend.
Walt Disney's live-action remake of Aladdin crushed the competition at the box office at the weekend, extended to Monday for Memorial Day, which honours those who died serving in the armed forces.
The weekend
also featured two new original R-rated films that opened as a counterpoint to the family-friendly Aladdin: The critically acclaimed teen comedy Booksmart and the horror movie Brightburn.
But the strategy didn't quite work. Aladdin did better than expected, grossing an estimated US$86.1 million ($131.5m) to take the top spot at the North American box office after Saturday and Sunday viewings, according to studio estimates.
It was expected to pass US$100m by the end of the long weekend. The others didn't even break US$10m.
