LOS ANGELES, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Focus Features and Amblin's horror thriller film "Come Play" led ticket sales at the sleepy North American Halloween box office with mere 3.15 million U.S. dollars from 2,183 locations in its opening weekend, according to studio figures collected by measurement firm Comscore.

Directed by Jacob Chase and starring Azhy Robertson, Gillian Jacobs and John Gallagher Jr., the PG-13 Halloween offering follows the parents of Oliver, a lonely young boy with autism, as they must fight to save their son from a villainous humanoid creature that preys on the innocence of children.

"Thank you everyone for going to the theaters! You have all helped make #ComePlay the number one movie at the box office," the director Chase tweeted, adding that "Wowzers! You have all made my Halloween very happy!"

Comscore noted that only around 49 percent of all North American Theaters are currently open. Although movie theaters outside New York City were allowed to reopen in New York state at 25 percent capacity under state guidance starting Oct. 23, Los Angeles and some other major markets in the country remained closed due to the pandemic.

"With those venues shuttered, studios are wary of releasing big-budget potential blockbusters," reported Variety magazine, adding that "For the time being, studios are siphoning off smaller movies like 'Come Play,' supernatural thriller 'The Empty Man' and family flick 'The War With Grandpa.' "

"It's a chance for theater owners to offer audiences new product, sure, but such offerings are hardly moving the needle for ticket sales," explained Variety.

"Come Play" holds an approval rating of 52 percent based on 79 reviews to date on review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes.

Open Road Films' action thriller "Honest Thief" moved to second place with 1.35 million dollars from 2,360 locations in its fourth weekend, pushing its North American total to 9.53 million dollars to date.

Directed by Mark Williams and starring Liam Neeson in the title role, the film follows a former bank robber who turns himself into authorities to start a new life after falling in love with a woman, only to be double-crossed by two ruthless FBI agents who want to devour his fortune.

"The War with Grandpa," the 101 Studios' family comedy film, came in third with 1.08 million dollars from 2,365 locations in its fourth weekend for a North American cume of 11.28 million dollars to date.

Directed by Tim Hill and based upon the novel of the same name by the late American children's book author Robert Kimmel Smith, the film stars two-time Academy Award winner Robert De Niro. The plot follows a sixth-grader who works to get his grandfather to move out of his room after he moves in with his family.

Warner Bros.' sci-fi action film "Tenet" landed in fourth with 885,000 dollars in its tenth weekend from 1,601 locations for a North American cume of 53.8 million dollars.

With a reported budget of more than 200 million dollars, the film, directed by Christopher Nolan and starring John David Washington, follows a secret agent as he manipulates the flow of time to prevent World War III.

"Tenet" took in an estimated 3.3 million dollars worldwide this weekend from 62 markets in release. The film has grossed 293.3 million dollars from international markets for a worldwide total of 347.1 million dollars.

The Chinese mainland is one of the biggest theatrical territories for the film with a cume of 455 million yuan (around 67.98 million U.S. dollars) after two months, according to box office data compiled by Maoyan, a Chinese movie-ticketing and film data platform.

"The Empty Man," the 20th Century Studios' horror thriller film, finished fifth with 561,000 dollars from 2,051 locations for a North American total of 2.26 million dollars to date.

Directed by David Prior and based on Cullen Bunn and Vanesa R. Del Rey's graphic novel of same name, the film starring James Badge Dale follows an ex-cop investigating the mysterious disappearances of some local teens in a town. Enditem