Aaaah: ‘Don’t Breathe’ takes top spot at the box office

That airy, wooshing sound? It’s a deep sigh of relief from Sony’s Screen Gems and Steve Bersch’s Stage 6 Films. Their low-budget horror movie, “Don’t Breathe,� surpassed “Suicide Squad� and pulled into the top spot at the box office on Saturday. It grossed about $10 million on Friday, and is expected to finish its opening weekend with about $22 million.

The thriller, from Uruguay-born writer-director Fede Alvarez and starring Dylan Minnette, Jane Levy, Daniel Zovatto and Stephen Lang, is about a group of friends in Detroit whose home-invasion plan goes horribly wrong. It’s a notable success for Alvarez, best known for 2013’s “Evil Dead� remake. The film, which was produced by Alvarez and “Evil Dead� series creator Sam Raimi, has an 87% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and cost about $10 million to make.

The DC Comics/Warner Bros. antihero mash-up “Suicide Squad,� which has suffered poor reviews, led the box office pack the last three weekends. It now follows “Don’t Breathe� in second place, grossing about $11 million so far this weekend. The film has already pulled in more than $500 million internationally.

Sony’s “Sausage Party� and Focus’ animated “Kubo and the Two Strings� took the third and fourth box office spots, respectively.“ Sausage Party� in its third week, brought in a little over $7 million weekend while “Kubo,� in its second week, took in about $7 million also.

The weekend’s other major wide release is Lionsgate’s “Mechanic: Resurrection,� starring Jason Statham, which claimed the fifth box office spot. The sequel to 2011’s “The Mechanic,� about an elite hit man, also stars Jessica Alba and Tommy Lee Jones. It opened at about $7 million.

Overall, it’s safe to say that horror is hot this summer. Recent hits include “Lights Out� and “The Conjuring 2� from New Line Cinema, “The Shallows� from Sony and “The Purge: Election Year� from Universal Pictures.

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