‘Split’ Holds onto #1 Spot at U.S. Box Office

M. Night Shyamalan’s Split held onto the top spot at the box office for a second week bringing in $26 million. The film beat out A Dog’s Purpose which was originally expected to hit number one.

PETA staged 30 protests outside cinemas across America on Friday night to protest the movie. Activists at PETA called for a boycott of the film after backstage footage of a trainer forcing a terrified German Shepherd into rushing water during the filming of a action sequence hit the Internet earlier in January. Dennis Quaid and the film’s producer Gavin Polone have dismissed the comments as sensationalism, while defending the movie and insisting the video footage was not an accurate depiction of how trainers handled the animals on set.

Hidden Figures came in third bringing in $14 million, and debuting at fourth was Resident Evil: The Final Chapter with $13.8 million.

Hanging on at number five was the original musical La La Land which brought in an additional $12 million – bringing the film’s current total to $106.5 million. Just last week the film was nominated for 14 Oscars, which makes it tied with Titanic and All About Eve for the most nominations ever given to a film..