‘IF’ tops the box office with a less-than-friendly $35 million debut

John Krazinski‘s live-action CGI fantasy comedy IF topped the domestic box office with an estimated $35 million opening weekend — slightly below the $40 million it was expected to take in.

The film — starring Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming, and featuring the voices of Steve Carell, Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph, Bradley Cooper and George Clooney — is about a girl who can see people’s imaginary friends. It opened in France and Belgium last week. After expanding to more international markets this weekend, it added an estimated $20 million, for total earnings of $59 million worldwide.

Last week’s number one film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, dropped to second place, earning an estimated $26 million, pushing its North American tally past $100 million. It also took in an estimated $40.6 million overseas, for a total global haul of $237.5 million.

Third place went to the horror film The Strangers: Chapter 1, which beat expectations with an estimated $12 million North American debut.

The Fall Guy took fourth place, delivering an estimated $8.1 million at the domestic box office, for a three-week total of $63 million. Internationally, the Ryan Gosling/Emily Blunt-led action film collected an estimated $7.2 million, for a worldwide total of $64.6 million.

Rounding out the top five was Challengers, with an estimated $2.9 million in North America. As of Sunday evening, it held a narrow lead over the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black. The latter earned an estimated $2.85 million in its opening weekend.