The Best Christmas Pageant Ever tops Friday box office, Heretic comes in 2nd

The holiday season has its first box office hit.“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” a film based on Barbara Robinson’s bestselling 1972 book, earned $5 million at the box office on Friday.That was more than enough to score the movie a No.1 finish, according to The Numbers.The comedy, starring comic Pete Holmes and “Ant-Man” actress Judy Greer, revolves around six naughty siblings who, after sneaking into a church, unwittingly become the stars of their town’s annual Christmas pageant.“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” opened in just over 3,000 theaters.Meanwhile, the much ballyhooed Hugh Grant thriller “Heretic” showed in 200 more theaters than “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” but earned $700,000 less.“Heretic” debuted the No.

2, generating $4.3 million in day one ticket sales.The film follows two young missionaries who become trapped in the home of a fiendish man (Grant), and find themselves playing a deadly game of cat and mouse as they try to stay alive.“Venom: The Last Dance” earned another $3.9 million at the box office during its third week in theaters, and dropped two slot to No.3.The film, starring Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, a journalist forced to share his body with a demonic-looking alien symbiote that feasts on human brains, has made over $102 million thus far.“The Wild Robot” held steady at No.

4, earning another $1.5 million at the box office.The film has made over $125 million in five weeks, the film has made more than $115 million.Rounding things out at No.

5 was “Smile 2,” the psychological thriller starring Jack Nicholson’s son, Ray.“Smile 2” dropped three spots, holds on to the No.2 position, with $1.4 million in ticket receipts for a total of $56 million earned after a month in theaters....