'Send Help' debuts atop N.America box office
20th Century's "Send Help" stars Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'Brien as a woman and her boss trying to survive on a deserted island after their plane crashes.
It marks a return to the genre for director Sam Raimi, who first made his name in the 1980s with the "Evil Dead" films.
"This is an excellent opening for an original horror film," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. "This is terrific, broad-appeal entertainment."
Debuting in second place was sci-fi thriller "Iron Lung" at $18 million, Exhibitor Relations reported.
The video game adaptation written, directed and financed by YouTube star Mark Fischbach, known by his pseudonym Markiplier, is a post-apocalyptic adventure.
"Melania," Amazon MGM's documentary about the first lady, opened in third place with a better-than-expected $7 million in ticket sales.
"As good as this opening is for a documentary, for any other film, with $75 million in costs and limited foreign potential, it would be a problem," Gross said.
"But this is a political investment, not a for-profit movie venture," he added. "$75 million is insignificant to Amazon."
Disney's Oscar-nominated animated film "Zootopia 2" kept chugging, finishing in fourth place at $5.8 million in the United States and Canada.
Opening in fifth place was action thriller "Shelter" starring Jason Statham with a disappointing $5.5 million.
Rounding out the top 10 are:
"Mercy" ($4.7 million)
"Avatar: Fire and Ash" ($3.5 million)
"The Housemaid" ($3.5 million)
"Marty Supreme" ($2.9 million)
"28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" ($1.6 million)