Bodyguard a hit but it’s a wet summer for cinemas

Daniel Craig and Channing Tatum have lost out to Samuel L Jackson and Ryan Reynolds.

The first pair’s movie, Logan Lucky, was preferred by the critics, but saw less traffic at the box office than The Hitman’s Bodyguard, starring the later two.

On the opening weekend The Hitman’s Bodyguard took $21.6 million (£16.8 million) in US ticket sales, while Logan Lucky managed just $8.1 million.

Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst for comScore, said: “It was a battle of the action ensemble cast movies. Audiences looked at these two action movies in the market place and made a decision,” he said.

Lionsgate, which distributed The Hitman’s Bodyguard expects the film to play well into September.

Cinema industry watchers say it has been a limp summer all around, despite there being no major football tournament.

Successes including Dunkirk have been weighed down by flops inlcuding The Emoji Movie.