‘Downton Abbey’ overpowers Brad Pitt, Rambo at box office

By Jake Coyle The Associated Press

5 years ago

This image released by Focus Features shows Elizabeth McGovern, from left, Harry Hadden-Paton, ... — This image released by Focus Features shows Elizabeth McGovern, from left, Harry Hadden-Paton, Laura Carmichael, Hugh Bonneville and Michael Fox, right, in a scene from the film "Downton Abbey." (Jaap Buitendijk/Focus Features via AP)

This image released by 20th Century Fox shows Brad Pitt in a scene from "Ad Astra," in theaters on Sept. 20. (Francois Duhamel/20th Century Fox via AP)

This image released by Lionsgate shows Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo in a scene from "Rambo: Last Blood." (Yana Blajeva/Lionsgate via AP)

NEW YORK — Brad Pitt’s “Ad Astra” and Sylvester Stallone’s “Rambo: Last Blood” were no match for “Downton Abbey” at the box office.

The big-screen encore of the upstairs-downstairs TV series opened with an estimated $31 million in ticket sales over the weekend, handily overpowering a pair of less well-mannered movies.

The Pitt-led father-son space drama “Ad Astra” debuted with $19.2 million. “Last Blood trailed slightly with $19 million of its own.

That trio of new releases outperformed a pair of strong holdovers. After two weeks at the No. 1 spot, “It Chapter Two” slid to fourth with $17.2 million. The stripper tale “Hustlers,” starring Jennifer Lopez, earned $17 million in its second weekend.