It seems David O. Russell's latest star-studded period drama was no match for pop star Shawn Mendes' turn as a singing crocodile at the box office.
Amsterdam — which follows a group of friends (Christian Bale, John David Washington, Margot Robbie) who witness a murder in 1930s Manhattan and become suspects themselves — opened with an underwhelming $6.5 million at the domestic box office, per Comscore. At No. 3, it was outpaced by Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile in second place, which debuted with $11.5 million.
Set in a different kind of New York (one that features a singing crocodile that loves great music, baths, and caviar), Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile follows a young boy (Winslow Fegley) who becomes fast friends with the reptile (voiced by Mendes). The film also stars Constance Wu, Javier Bardem, Scoot McNairy, and Brett Gelman.
![Amsterdam](https://ew.com/thmb/4dcyQGbbClBOt55pzhvMP-RENmI=/1500x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Amsterdam_092622_7-e3d21c625374430abd75f81d59fbba67.jpg)
While the latter has so far been hailed as warm and whimsical, Amsterdam — which also features the talents of Taylor Swift, Robert De Niro, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rami Malek, and Zoe Saldana, among others — has been largely panned by critics and currently has a 61% Rotten Tomatoes audience score. EW's Leah Greenblatt called it a "muddled comedy" in her C+ review.
"The resolution of the central mystery is both rushed and obtuse, and it all unfolds in a frenetic, flailing whirl of pomp and nonsense that Amsterdam's strange circuitous journey and almost embarrassing surplus of stars never quite justifies: a whirring music-box curiosity in search of some elusive purpose, and a point," she writes.
Elsewhere, Smile retained the No. 1 for a second week in a row, earning an additional $17.6 million after last weekend's $22 million debut. The horror film also dethroned last week's top title, China's Home Coming, at the global box office, with a total of $49.9 million. The Woman King and Don't Worry Darling rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth place, respectively. Gina Prince-Bythewood's historical epic earned an additional $5.3 million, while Olivia Wilde's psychological thriller brought in an extra $3.4 million.
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