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NEW YORK 鈥� Ticket sales plunged to their lowest levels in at least 20 years at North American movie theatres as the coronavirus pandemic led to one of Hollywood's worst weekends at the box office.

Receipts totalled about $55.3 million in U.S. and Canada theatres, according to studio estimates Sunday. Not since 2000 has weekend box office revenue been so low, according to data firm Comscore, when $54.5 million in tickets were sold on a quiet September weekend. More people went to the movies the weekend after Sept. 11, 2001.

Disney's latest release from Pixar, 鈥淥nward,鈥� remained the top film, earning $10.5 million in its second weekend. The Christian romance 鈥淚 Still Believe鈥� from Lionsgate brought in $9.5 million. Sony's comic-book adaptation 鈥淏loodshot,鈥� with Vin Diesel, grossed an estimated $9.3 million in its debut. The Blumhouse horror satire 鈥淭he Hunt鈥� opened with $5.3 million.

All of those totals were notably below expectations. Most films last week had aimed to do 25% to 50% better. The weekend's sales overall were down 45% from the weekend before, according to Comscore.

While this weekend's crop of films weren't expected to compete with the same timeframe last year, when 鈥淐aptain Marvel鈥� was in release, revenue was down 60% from the same weekend last year.

Pixar films virtually always hold well for weeks, but 鈥淥nward鈥� dropped 73% from its opening weekend. 鈥淭he Hunt,鈥� which remounted its release after its debut was cancelled last fall following a wave of deadly shootings, had hoped to do twice as well.

Most of Europe's cinemas have shuttered in recent days, as have theatres in China, India, Lebanon and Kuwait. Those closures have already slashed international grosses. Health officials are urging for those who can stay home to do so, to help stymie the spread of the virus.

But the wide majority of North American theatres remained open for business over the weekend. The continent's two largest chains, AMC Theaters and Regal Cinemas, said they wouldn't fill theatres to more than 50% capacity to facilitate social distancing. Others asked moviegoers to leave empty seats around them. All pledged to clean theatres in between screenings.

Other theatres opted to close completely, including many in New York. Of the roughly 5,800 theatres in the United States, about 100 were closed over the weekend.

Jim Orr, Universal's distribution chief, said the industry was doing its best to navigate the unknown.

鈥淲e're still all working through it. The circuits are doing a great job of taking government mandates and applying it to their businesses the best they possibly can,鈥� Orr said. 鈥淭his is a unique point in time in our industry and maybe in our nation. But we'll get to the other side of it, and the box office will come back very healthy. It's just a matter of when that might be.鈥�

Health officials urged people to stay home and minimize social interaction, especially in states that have instituted bans on larger gatherings. California put a limit on gatherings of 250 people; New York set its ban at 500 people; Ohio banned gatherings of 100 people or more.

鈥淲ith the worldwide coronavirus epidemic causing many domestic theatre chains to go to reduced seating and many international territories to either completely or partially close all theatres, as well as creating uncertainty about going to crowded spaces, all titles have seen larger than expected drops,鈥� Disney said in a statement.

Much of the entertainment world has shut down. Broadway theatres, major museums and theme parks have closed their doors. Concerts have been called off. Festivals including South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, and the Tribeca Film Festival in New York have been cancelled or delayed. Most live-action film and TV production has been put on hiatus.

Hollywood also has postponed most of its upcoming releases. Next week's most anticipated movie, 鈥淎 Quiet Place Part 2,鈥� has been removed from the schedule. Other major releases, including Disney's 鈥淢ulan" and the James Bond film 鈥淒ie Another Day鈥� have been put off.

That means that even if movie theatres remain open in the coming weeks, they will have little to play. Theaters could potentially play older films to help them get by.

鈥淚t's so hard to predict how this will play out,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淚t's an ever-changing, ever-evolving situation that the entire world is trying to wrap their minds around. For the short term, obviously there's an impact."

For now, it's likely more theatres will soon close their doors. Over the weekend, cinemas were shuttered in both New Jersey's Bergen County and Pennsylvania's Montgomery County after local governments advised closing all entertainment venues.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included.

1. "Onward," $10.5 million ($6.8 million international).

2. 鈥淚 Still Believe,鈥� $9.5 million.

3. 鈥淏loodshot,鈥� $9.3 million ($13 million international)

4. 鈥淭he Invisible Man,鈥� $6 million ($6.2 million international).

5. 鈥淭he Hunt,鈥� $5.3 million ($700,000 international)

6. 鈥淪onic the Hedgehog,鈥� $2.6 million ($2.9 million international).

7. 鈥淭he Way Back,鈥� $2.4 million.

8. 鈥淭he Call of the Wild,鈥� $2.2 million ($1.1 million international).

9. 鈥淓mma,鈥� $1.4 million.

10. 鈥淏ad Boys for Life,鈥� $1.1 million.

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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP

Jake Coyle, The Associated Press