LOS ANGELES, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Universal and Legendary's science fiction film "Pacific Rim Uprising" brought in an estimated 28 million U.S. dollars in its opening weekend, dethroning Marvel Studios' superhero film "Black Panther" from the top spot at the North American weekend box office.
The robot-battle epic with a reported 150 million dollars budget is the sequel to 2013's "Pacific Rim." Directed by Steven S. DeKnight and co-produced by Oscar winner Guillermo del Toro, the film stars John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Max Martini, Rinko Kikuchi, Burn Gorman and Chinese actress Jing Tian among others. The plot follows humanity again fighting against a new threat of Kaiju, the monstrous sea creatures.
The film is on track to earn 65 million dollars in China, pushing its international cume to 122.5 million dollars for a respectable global cume of 150.5 million dollars, according to studio figures collected by comScore.
Disney and Marvel Studios' "Black Panther" moved to the second place with an estimated 16.65 million dollars in its sixth weekend, ending its five straight weekend domination at the North American box office.
Directed by Ryan Coogler, "Black Panther" stars Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa/Black Panther who returns home as king of Wakanda but finds his sovereignty challenged by a long-time adversary in a conflict with global consequences. The film has grossed an incredible 630.91 million dollars through Sunday in North American theaters and became the top-grossing superhero film of all time in North America.
In third place, Roadside Attractions' Christian drama film "I Can Only Imagine" brought in an estimated 13.83 million dollars in its second weekend. Directed by Andrew Erwin and Jon Erwin, the film stars J. Michael Finley as Bart Millard who is the lead singer of the Christian band MercyMe. "I Can Only Imagine" is a song of the band and the the best-selling Christian single of all time.
Paramount's animated comedy film "Sherlock Gnomes" opened in fourth place with an estimated 10.6 million dollars in its opening weekend. Warner Bros.' action-adventure film "Tomb Raider" finished fifth with an estimated 10.43 million dollars in its second weekend.
