LOS ANGELES, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Paramount's action film "Mission: Impossible - Fallout" topped North American box office in its opening weekend with an estimated 61.5 million U.S. dollars, marking the highest debut of the franchise.
It's also the second highest opening of 56-year-old Tom Cruise's career, only behind the 64 million dollars opening of 2005's science fiction film "War of the Worlds."
"Mission: Impossible - Fallout" is the sixth installment in the franchise. Directed by Christopher McQuarrie, the film stars Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Sean Harris, Michelle Monaghan and Alec Baldwin, all of whom reprise their roles from previous films. McQuarrie is the first director to helm two films in the franchise.
The film received highly positive reviews with a strong "A" rating from moviegoers on CinemaScore. It also received a 97 percent certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, both the best of the franchise.
"The 'Mission' franchise has been thrilling audiences for over two decades and this film, with some of the best reviews of the series, does not disappoint," wrote movie analyst Paul Dergarabedian at comScore in an email to Xinhua.
Universal's musical romantic comedy film "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" came in second with an estimated 15 million dollars in its second weekend. The film has brought in 70.42 million dollars in North American theatres and 167.3 million dollars worldwide, according to studio figures collected by comScore.
The female-fronted film is a follow-up to the 2008's "Mamma Mia!" which was based on the musical of the same name. "Mamma Mia!" Directed and written by Ol Parker, "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" stars Christine Baranski, Pierce Brosnan, Lily James, Amanda Seyfried and so on.
Sony's action movie "The Equalizer 2" moved to third place with an estimated 14 million dollars in its second weekend, pushing its North American cume to 64.23 million dollars. The film starring Denzel Washington is a sequel to the 2014 film "The Equalizer" which was based on the TV series of the same name.
Sony Pictures Animation's animated comedy film "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation" landed in fourth with an estimated 12.3 million dollars in its third weekend for a North American cume of 119.22 million dollars.
Warner Bros.' animated superhero comedy film "Teen Titans Go! To The Movies" finished fifth in its opening weekend with an estimated 10.5 million dollars. The film is based on the television series "Teen Titans Go!"
