‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ blocks out ‘Transformers’ to spend third straight week atop the box office

The Tim Burton legacy sequel to his 1988 horror comedy topped the North American box office charts for the third straight weekend with $26 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

It edged out the animated new release “Transformers: One,” which brought in $25 million. The Optimus Prime origin story from Paramount Pictures featuring the voices of Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry and Scarlett Johansson earned $39 million globally.

“Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” a Warner Bros. release with Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder returning as stars, has earned more than $226 million domestically in its three weeks after a monster opening of $110 million — the third best of the year — and a second weekend of $51.6 million. It has now earned $329.8 million globally.

Third place went to the James McAvoy horror “Speak No Evil,” which came in at $5.9 million in its second week for a total of $21.5 million.

But for “Beetlejuice,” the box office was in a quiet phase that is expected to break when “ Joker: Folie à Deux ” dances its way onto the big screen on Oct. 4.

“September has been a bit of a sleepy month and with around 47% of the revenue being generated by this single film,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “Fortunately, October is on track to deliver interesting blockbusters.”

The year’s second-highest grosser “Deadpool & Wolverine ” remained in the top 5 in its ninth weekend with another $3.9 million and a domestic total of $627 million. Only Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” has earned more.

The Demi Moore-starring, Coralie Fargeat-directed body horror “The Substance,” which made a splash at the Cannes Film Festival, brought in $3.1 million on limited screens in its first weekend for the sixth spot.

The Daily Wire movie “Am I Racist?” — in which conservative columnist Matt Walsh goes undercover as a “DEI trainee” — stayed in the top 10 after a fourth place finish last week, earning $2.9 million for seventh place and a two-week total of $9 million.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

• 1. “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” $26 million.
• 2. “Transformers One,” $25 million.
• 3. “Speak No Evil,” $5.9 million.
• 4. “Never Let Go,” $4.5 million.
• 5. “Deadpool & Wolverine,” $3.9 million.
• 6. “The Substance,” $3.1 million.
• 7. “Am I Racist?” $2.5 million.
• 8. “Reagan,” $1.7 million.
• 9. “JUNG KOOK: I AM STILL,” $1.4 million.
• 10. “Alien Romulus,” $1.3 million.