House With a Clock in Its Walls ticks to top spot at weekend box office

New York — The gothic family fantasy A House With a Clock in Its Walls exceeded expectations to debut with an estimated $26.9 million in ticket sales at the weekend box office.

Audiences showed considerably less interest in Michael Moore's Donald Trump-themed documentary, Fahrenheit 11/9, than his George W. Bush-themed one.

According to studio estimates on Sunday, A House With a Clock in Its Walls was easily the biggest draw of a quiet weekend at North American theatres.

The other three new wide releases all disappointed or downright flopped.

Fahrenheit 11/9 opened with $3.1 million in 1,719 theatres — a huge debut for most documentaries but a fraction of the $23.9 million opening generated in 2004 by Moore's record-breaking Fahrenheit 9/11.

Dan Fogelman's Life Itself and the home invasion thriller Assassination Nation both barely registered in nationwide release.