Highly anticipated rom-com Crazy Rich Asians—the first Hollywood film with a mainly Asian cast in a generation—dazzled the North American box office in its debut weekend, claiming the top spot, industry estimates showed Sunday.
The Warner Bros. adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s best-selling novel of the same name raked in $34 million since hitting theaters on Wednesday, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said. Of the total, the film took in $25.2 million at the weekend.
Starring veteran actress Michelle Yeoh, British-Malaysian former BBC host Henry Golding, and American sitcom star Constance Wu, the film tells the story of an American economics professor who meets her super-wealthy boyfriend’s family in Singapore—and all the drama that ensues.
It is the first Tinseltown film with a predominantly Asian cast since The Joy Luck Club in 1993.
Shark thriller The Meg tumbled to second place in its second week, taking in $21.2 million. It stars action movie regular Jason Statham as a rescue diver who tries to save scientists in a submarine from an attack by a huge, prehistoric shark.
Mile 22, a new spy thriller-action flick starring Mark Wahlberg, opened in third place at $13.6 million.
Another debut film, prehistoric adventure tale Alpha, shared fourth place at $10.5 million with summer blockbuster Mission: Impossible – Fallout.
The latest installment in the M:I franchise has now taken in $180.7 million overall.