Mario Anzuoni/Reuters
Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One opened to an estimated $53 million on Easter weekend, defying expectations to steal the No. 1 spot in theaters. The VR-fantasy flick, set in dystopian 2045 and peppered with 1980s pop culture references, follows one man’s quest to find a digital Easter egg in the virtual world of the Oasis. Starring Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, Lena Waithe, and Ben Mendelsohn, the film is adapted from Ernest Cline’s popular sci-fi novel of the same name. Ready Player One had the advantage of a Thursday release, giving it a leg up over Tyler Perry’s Acrimony, which claimed second place with an estimated $17 million. Disney and Marvel’s Black Panther, which dominated theaters for five straight weeks, came in third in its seventh weekend with an estimated $11 million.