'SpongeBob Movie' tops North American box office with $900K

Aug. 16 (UPI) -- The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run is the No. 1 movie in North America this weekend, BoxOfficeMojo.com said Sunday.

The animated adventure -- which will be available to stream on demand in early 2021 -- earned $900,000 from receipts recorded at 300 theaters.

Coming in at No. 2 is The Tax Collector with $204,000 in 138 theaters, followed by The Rental at No. 3 with $78,000 in 144 theaters, The Big Ugly at No. 4 with $24,000 in 14 theaters and Made in Italy with $21,000 in 101 theaters.

Rounding out the top tier are The Burnt Orange Heresy at No. 6 with $15,000 in 84 theaters and Sputnik with $12,000 in 32 theaters.

The Tax Collector was the No. 1 movie last weekend with $317,000 in receipts.

The releases of most major films have been canceled or delayed in recent months, with many, including Greyhound, The Secret, Bill & Ted Face the Music and Mulan, bypassing theaters in favor of video-on-demand and streaming platforms.

On March 8, before theaters were shuttered in keeping with social-distancing practices meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the North American box office take was about $100 million.

Onward and The Invisible Man were the big hits at the time and both made quick pay-per-view debuts when the theaters closed.