‘Equalizer 2’ Steals Box Office Crown From Mama Mia Here We Go Again

Denzel Washington's action film "The Equalizer 2" has narrowly won out over the ABBA jukebox musical "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again", making it a win of action over music.

The R-rated film grossed $35.8 million from North American theaters over the weekend. It's Washington's first ever sequel and the biggest opening of director Antoine Fuqua's career. The first "Equalizer," from 2014, opened similarly and went on to earn over $190 million worldwide.

Second place went to "Mamma Mia 2," which took in $34.4 million, a sum that was driven by an audience that was 83 percent female and 64 percent over the age of 25. The film brought back much of the original cast, like Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried and Pierce Brosnan, and added Cher, Andy Garcia and Lily James to the mix. Critics overall gave the sequel better marks than the first, which still went on to gross over $600 million worldwide 10 years ago.

The weekend's other big new opener, "Unfriended: Dark Web," also a sequel, scared up $3.5 million for a ninth-place start. The only two originals in the top 10 were "Skyscraper" and "Sorry to Bother You."

And yet there are still original films and documentaries making their own modest impact on the charts, including "Blindspotting," a buddy comedy with some serious themes about race and class starring Tony-winner Daveed Diggs that opened in 14 theaters and made an estimated $332,500.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Equalizer 2," $35.8 million ($3.3 million international).
2. "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again," $34.4 million ($42.4 million international).
3. "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation," $23.2 million ($37.7 million international).
4. "Ant-Man and the Wasp," $16.1 million ($21.6 million international).
5. "Incredibles 2," $11.5 million ($36.5 million international).
6. "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," $11 million ($17.3 million international).
7. "Skyscraper," $11 million ($27.3 million international).
8. "The First Purge," $5 million ($8.9 million international).
9. "Unfriended: Dark Web," $3.5 million.
10. "Sorry to Bother You," $2.8 million.