LOS Angeles, United States (AFP) — “The Angry Birds Movie” hopped to the top of the North American box office over the weekend, booting “Captain America” to second place, according to preliminary industry estimates Sunday.
The 3D animated take on the popular video game features a trio of flightless birds — Red, Chuck and Bomb — who take out their anger on an invasion of purple pigs.
The Sony production pulled in an estimated $39 million its first weekend in North American theaters, topping last week’s box office leader, “Captain America: Civil War,” according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.
That action-packed blockbuster and its cast of Marvel superheroes raked in another $33.1 million over the weekend for a cumulative total of $347.4 million after just three weeks in theaters.
Third place went to new-on-the-block “Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising,” a comedy starring Seth Rogan, Rose Byrne and Zac Efron that scored $21.8 million its first weekend out.
A sequel to 2014 hit “Neighbors,” it flips that movie’s premise by having unruly sorority sisters — instead of frat brothers — turn the lives of their happily married neighbors upside down.
“The Nice Guys,” a detective mystery starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, came in fourth on its debut weekend with a box office take of $11.3 million.
Gosling and Crowe play a private eye and a hired enforcer on the hunt for a missing woman.
“The Jungle Book,” a remake of the Disney animated classic, slipped to fifth place its fifth week in theaters, taking in $11 million for a cumulative total of $327.5 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
— “Money Monster” ($7 million)
— “The Darkness” ($2.4 million)
— “Zootopia” ($1.7 million)
— “The Huntsman: Winter’s War” ($1.2 million)
— “Mother’s Day” ($1.1 million)
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