Universal’s Halloween season release Five Nights at Freddy’s remained in first place at the North American box office, beating out the awards-tilted biopic on Elvis Presley’s wife “Priscilla,” estimates showed Sunday.

Despite maintaining its lead in ticket sales, Freddy’s still had a frightening drop from US$78 million in its debut weekend to only US$19.4 million this week, according to industry watcher Exhibitor Relations.

The video-game based film, released both in theatres and on Universal’s Peacock platform, is “crashing in its second weekend of simultaneous streaming,” said analyst David A Gross.

Josh Hutcherson, starring in his biggest role since the Hunger Games franchise, leads the cast as a security guard working nights at an abandoned family entertainment centre, where creepy animatronic characters spring murderously to life after dark.

The horror film was followed again by Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, earning another US$13.5 million in its fourth week out, for a total domestic haul of US$166 million.

Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon maintained its third-place spot at US$7 million in North American theatres, while also crossing the symbolic US$100 million figure in worldwide sales.

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The over-three-hour film is to be released on Apple’s streaming platform, but a date has not yet been announced.

In its first wide-release weekend, Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla landed in fourth place at just US$5 million.

The film charts the rocky relationship between Elvis and Priscilla Presley, from their first meeting on a German army base when she was just 14 and the rock’n’roll star was 24, through to their acrimonious split.

In the titular role, 25-year-old Cailee Spaeny has already earned the Venice Film Festival’s best actress award, while Jacob Elordi has received strong reviews for his performance as Elvis.

The latest Elvis-related biopic to hit theatres had a “fair opening for a romance drama,” said analyst David A Gross.

It may find some more momentum, he said, given its “excellent reviews and very good audience scores.”

In fifth was newly released Spanish-language film Radical at US$2.7 million. Based on a true story, it follows a teacher in a Mexican border town who “tries a radical new method to unleash the curiosity and potential of his students,” according to production company Pantelion Films.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

• Exorcist: The Believer (US$2.2 million)

• After Death (US$2.0 million)

• Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (US$2.0 million)

• What Happens Later (US$1.6 million)

• Freelance (US$1.2 million) AFP