'Eternals' wins best in show over 'Clifford the Big Red Dog' at the box office

Paramount Pictures' "Clifford the Big Red Dog" fetched an expected $16.4 million at the domestic box office over the Veterans Day weekend, trailing Disney's "Eternals," according to estimates from measurement firm Comscore.

The Marvel blockbuster maintained first place with $27.5 million — a 61% drop from its opening weekend for a North American cumulative of $118.8 million. "Clifford" debuted simultaneously Wednesday in theaters and on streaming platform Paramount+.

Directed by Walt Becker, the semi-animated family film about a larger-than-life canine with scarlet fur stars Jack Whitehall, Darby Camp, Tony Hale, Sienna Guillory, David Alan Grier, Izaac Wang, Russell Wong, Kenan Thompson and John Cleese.

Based on the popular children's book series of the same name, "Clifford the Big Red Dog" earned a mediocre 48% on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, but received a solid A rating from audiences polled by CinemaScore.

Rounding out the top five are Warner Bros.' "Dune," which collected $5.5 million in its fourth weekend for a North American cumulative of $93.1 million; United Artists Releasing's "No Time to Die," which nabbed $4.6 million in its sixth weekend for a North American cumulative of $150.5 million; and Sony's "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," which grossed $4 million in its seventh weekend for a North American cumulative of $202.7 million.

Focus Features period drama "Belfast," starring Caitríona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Colin Morgan and Jude Hill, opened in limited release at No. 8 over the holiday weekend with $1.8 million.

The Kenneth Branagh film, which premiered in September at the Telluride Film Festival, scored an impressive 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A-minus on CinemaScore.

Next weekend, get ready for something strange in your neighborhood with Sony's "Ghostbusters: Afterlife," as well as Warner Bros.' "King Richard," starring Will Smith as the father and coach of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.