Brad Pitt's 'F1' cruises to top of North America box office

"F1: The Movie," starring Brad Pitt as a washed up Formula One driver who gets one last shot at redemption, sped to the top of the North American box office in its debut weekend with $55.6 million in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday.

"This is an outstanding opening for an original action sports drama," said David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research, noting that both critics and audiences have loved the racing film from Apple and Warner Bros.

"How to Train Your Dragon," Universal and DreamWorks Animation's live-action reboot of the popular 2010 film, slipped to second place with $19.4 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.

The family-friendly film tells the story of a Viking named Hiccup (Mason Thames) who strikes up a friendship with Toothless the dragon.

In third place was Disney/Pixar Animation's latest original film "Elio," at $10.7 million in the United States and Canada.

"Elio" tells the story of a young boy who is mistaken by aliens as an intergalactic ambassador for Earth. The voice cast includes Oscar winner Zoe Saldana.

"M3GAN 2.0," the sequel to Universal's 2022 film about a murderous doll, opened in a disappointing fourth place with $10.2 million.

"The idea of a child-sized humanoid robot doll powered by AI generated a lot of interest the first time, but that interest has fallen apart," Gross said.

In fifth place was Columbia Pictures' zombie sequel "28 Years Later," which took in $9.7 million.

Critics' reviews and audience ratings have been strong for the Danny Boyle-directed threequel, which picks up -- as the title suggests -- more than a generation after the initial outbreak of the Rage Virus.

Agence France-Presse