'Deadpool' dominates again with $55 million in 2nd week

NEW YORK (AP) — Marvel's R-rated antihero smash "Deadpool" continued to dominate movie theaters over the weekend, earning an estimated $55 million and trouncing a trio of newcomers.

After pulling in a massive $152.2 million in its President's Day weekend four-day debut, the comic book adaptation from 20th Century Fox starring Ryan Reynolds as a foul-mouthed mercenary again topped the North American box office.

The film, in which Joseph Fiennes plays a Roman soldier investigating the death and resurrection of Jesus, was made for about $20 million by Sony's Affirm label, which targets evangelical Christian moviegoers.

A24's critically acclaimed Puritan thriller "The Witch" opened with $8.7 million, marking the biggest opening of the indie label behind the Oscar-nominated drama "Room."

A24 celebrated the opening of Robert Eggers' directorial debut — an austere 1600s horror film, rigorously authentic to the period — as not only the company's biggest weekend yet, but one that put "The Witch" on course to be "the most successful film of all time with a goat in a starring role."

The animated sequel, which has made $117.1 million in total, will lose its near-exclusive window of family moviegoing next weekend when Disney's "Zootopia" opens.