LOS ANGELES — Heading into what will be one of the worst Labor Day weekends in many years, Lionsgate's “The Hitman's Bodyguard” continued to protect its No. 1 position at the box office, bagging $2.442 million on Friday for a four-day weekend close to $12 million, followed by Warner's “Annabelle: Creation” at $1,839 million for an estimated $7.7 long weekend and The Weinstein Company's “Wind River,” which blew in at $1,497 million for a possible $7.7 million weekend.

In a weekend with few newcomers, Weinstein's “Tulip Fever" failed to bloom, trailing below already low expectations at No. 23 after Friday night's receipts, with $358,000 on 765 screens in its debut frame. The medium-sized release could sputter to around $1.5 million total.

In all, the four-day holiday weekend is expected to total about $85 million, which is down about 30 percent from the same period in 2016.

That put the period love story behind even Sony's 40th anniversary re-release of “Close Encounters of the Third Kind," which earned $486,000, starting Saturday at No. 12.

In its second week of release, Weinstein's animated “Leap!" was fourth among Friday earners, with $1,074, and Bleecker Street's Steven Soderbergh buddy heist film “Logan Lucky” coming in fifth with a $1,041 million haul in week three.

Entering its third week at No. 1, “The Hitman's Bodyguard" cost an estimated $40 million to produce, and has earned a total of $56,655 to date. It becomes the only summer film to hold the top spot for three consecutive weekends in a row.

First Published September 2, 2017, 6:50 p.m.