Legendary Entertainment’s Pacific Rim Uprising starring John Boyega ended Black Panther’s magnificent five-week run at the top of the charts, although Marvel and Disney chiefs have plenty to celebrate as their tentpole sailed past $600m and overtook The Avengers to become the highest-grossing superhero release in North America.

Pacific Rim Uprising arrived on $28m via Universal at the head of a lacklustre session. The action sci-fi sequel opened in 3,708 theatres and fell 29.7% against the inflation-adjusted $39.8m July 2013 debut of Pacific Rim, which opened in third place five years ago on $37.3m.

At a reported cost of $150m excluding P&A, the tentpole’s hopes of recouping already lie in the international arena, where Pacific Rim Uprising scored a $122.3m weekend fired up by $64.8m in China. The early worldwide running total stands at $150.3m.

Black Panther fell to number two in its sixth session and added $16.7m for $630.9m. It currently ranks as the fifth highest release of all time in North America and should end its run in third place when it overtakes Jurassic World on $652.3m and Titanic on $659.4m. Warner Bros and MGM’s Tomb Raider fell 55.9% in its second session, sliding three places to number five on $10.4m for $41.7m.

Wes Anderson’s Berlinale opener Isle Of Dogs continued Fox Searchlight’s strong run of form as the stop-motion animation debuted at number 15 on $1.6m from 27 sites for a terrific $58,148 per-site average. Paramount and MGM’s animation Sherlock Gnomes featuring an all-star voice cast including Mary J. Blige, Emily Blunt, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Caine and veteran rocker Ozzy Osbourne debuted at number four on a so-so $10.6m in 3,662.

Sony’s $5m Christian drama Paul, Apostle Of Christ starring Jim Caviezel set itself up well heading into Easter weekend on a $5m debut in 1,473 sites at number eight. Global Road released the Bella Thorne and Patrick Schwarzenegger romance Midnight Sun at number 10 on $4.1m from 2,173, and Bleecker Street opened Steven Soderbergh’s horror-thriller and recent Berlinale world premiere Unsane starring The Crown’s Claire Foy in 11th place on $3.9m in 2,023.

Box office for the top 12 generated $115m, down 5.9% on last weekend and down 41% on the comparable session in 2017 when Beauty And The Beast held on to top spot in its second weekend.

This week’s wide releases are: thriller Tyler Perry’s Acrimony starring Taraji P. Henson via Lionsgate; and PureFlix’s God’s Not Dead: A Light In Darkness.

Estimated top 10 North America March 23-25, 2018
Film (Dist) / Est wkd gross / Est total to date

1 (-) Pacific Rim Uprising (Universal-Legendary Entertainment) Universal Pictures International $28m –

2 (1) Black Panther (Buena Vista) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International $16.7m $630.9m

3 (3) I Can Only Imagine (Roadside Attractions) $13.8m $38.3m

4 (-) Sherlock Gnomes (Paramount) Paramount Pictures International $10.6m –

5 (2) Tomb Raider (Warner Bros) Warner Bros Pictures International / MGM $10.4m $41.7m

6 (4) A Wrinkle In Time (Buena Vista) Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International $8m $73.9m

7 (5) Love, Simon (Fox) Fox International $7.8m $23.7m

8 (-) Paul, Apostle Of Christ (Sony Pictures) Sony Pictures Releasing International $5m –

9 (6) Game Night (Warner Bros) Warner Bros Pictures International $4.2m $60.8m

10 (-) Midnight Sun (Global Road) Global Road International $4.1m –