Washington - AFP
The espionage comedy "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" dominated North American box offices in its debut weekend, industry figures showed Sunday.
It ousted "It", a freaky horror hit which had held the crown for two weeks.
With a star-studded cast featuring Colin Firth, Channing Tatum, Halle Berry and even Elton John, "Kingsman" raked in an estimated $39 million for the weekend, according to Exhibitor Relations.
The sequel to "Kingsman: The Secret Service", "The Golden Circle" sees British spy organization Kingsman join forces with American counterpart Statesman to take on a new global threat.
"It", based on a Stephen King novel and starring Bill Skarsgard as a creepy clown who menaces a sleepy Maine town, earned an estimated $30 million -- half its take last weekend.
But having stormed the box office in its opening weekend with revenue of $123 million, "It" still boasts impressive earnings of $266.3 million in only three weeks.
In at third was new animation "The Lego Ninjago Movie", the third installment of Warner Bros.' "The Lego Movie" franchise, which made $21.2 million.
Trailing far behind in fourth was "American Assassin", starring Dylan O'Brien as a CIA "black ops" recruit who teams up with crusty veteran agent Michael Keaton to fight terrorists. The film took in just $6.2 million, bringing its total earnings to $21.6 million in two weeks.
Now in its third week, Open Road Films' "Home Again" dropped one place to fifth with a take of $3.3 million. With earnings totaling $22.3 million, the romantic comedy stars Reese Witherspoon as a newly single woman whose life changes when three young men move into her house.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
"Mother!" ($3.2 million)
"Friend Request" ($2.4 million)
"The Hitman's Bodyguard" ($1.8 million)
"Stronger" ($1.7 million)
"Wind River" ($1.2 million)