Jack Black and Cate Blanchett star alongside young Owen Vaccaro as Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan sent to live with his warlock uncle.

In its second week, “A Simple Favor” jumped a notch to second place. Lionsgate’s tale about a mommy blogger (Anna Kendrick) investigating the disappearance of her friend (Blake Lively) earned US$10.4 million.

Just a shade below with US$10.3 million, Warner Bros’ “The Nun” dropped to third place.

The latest fright fest in the popular “Conjuring” series stars Taissa Farmiga – whose sister Vera headlined two “Conjuring” films – in a story about a young nun, an exorcist and a guide stumbling onto a dark secret deep in Dracula country in the 1950s.

After slaying the box office at number one, sci-fi action movie “The Predator” fell to fourth place with earnings of US$8.7 million.

A Fox reboot of the franchise’s original production that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, the film’s US$24.6 million opening weekend haul did not meet expectations.

Glitzy rom-com “Crazy Rich Asians,” another Warner Bros. product, held on to fifth place with US$6.5 million.

The film, with a nearly all-Asian cast led by Henry Golding and Constance Wu, has a rich North American take of US$159.4 million in its six-week run.