Tom Holland does it again: Uncharted tops US box-office

Los Angeles : Hollywood star Tom Holland has taken his game a notch higher this time with his latest release Uncharted, which has earned $45 million over the four-day Presidents' Day weekend -- a tally that would notch it as the biggest theatrical opening of 2022 so far.

Sony Pictures' Uncharted earned $15.4 million on Friday from 4,275 locations, setting itself up for a Number 1 debut. The Tom Holland vehicle marks the box-office's biggest opening since the star's last film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, which dominated the holiday season to become the third highest-grossing domestic film release in history.

After anchoring a Marvel trilogy, Uncharted is seen as a test of Holland's box office appeal outside of spandex. The film marks his first starring role in a non-Marvel theatrical blockbuster, apart from last spring's 'Chaos Walking', which sat on Lionsgate's shelf for years and hardly made any noise in the middle of a pandemic.

A $45 million four-day gross would be a more-than-healthy indicator of Holland's bankability, though Uncharted will still rely on overseas grosses to recoup its $120 million production budget.

Directed by Zombieland duology helmer Ruben Fleischer, Uncharted stars Holland as treasure hunter Nathan Drake. The rest of the cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Sophia Ali and Antonio Banderas. They get up to some antics on their adventure. The film has been met with largely negative reviews from critics, turning in a 39 per cent score on the critical aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences have been more receptive; the film scored a "B+" CinemaScore rating, indicating general approval from ticket buyers.

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