Fox’s counter-programming foray with the animated family comedy “Ferdinand” finished a distant second after “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” with $13.3 million at 3,621 locations in North America amid expectations of a $15 million debut.
The movie is based on the children’s book “The Story of Ferdinand” and directed by Carlos Saldanha, with John Cena voicing the Spanish bull who doesn’t want to fight.
Fox saw a 54% jump in Saturday grosses as an indication that the film should play well during the holiday season with most schoolchildren on vacation.
Disney-Pixar’s fourth weekend of “Coco” led the rest of the pack with $10 million at 3,155 locations in its fourth frame, enough to lift the animated musical to past $150 million domestically. The film, which had led the US box office for three weekends, declined 46%.
