'Kong' swings to top of North American box office

In the box office battle of the beasts, King Kong easily conquered Wolverine.

"Kong: Skull Island," the latest in a series of films starring the legendary ape-like monster, bested "Logan" to top the North American box office in its debut weekend, industry data showed Monday.

The film starring Britain's Tom Hiddleston, Oscar-winner Brie Larson and the ubiquitous Samuel L. Jackson tells the story of a group of explorers on a mysterious island that happens to be Kong's domain.

The latest reboot of the 1933 Hollywood monster movie classic raked in $61 million over the weekend, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

That easily topped the $38.1 million brought in by "Logan," which stars Hugh Jackman in his final performance as the metal-clawed, mutant anti-hero Wolverine.

In just two weeks in theaters, "Logan" has earned nearly $153 million.

Bumped down to third place was the socially conscious horror thriller "Get Out," the surprise hit of the year, with $20.7 million.

Jordan Peele's directorial debut -- he is half of the comedy duo "Key and Peele" -- follows an African American (Daniel Kaluuya) who goes with his white girlfriend (Allison Williams) to meet her family for the first time, but quickly realizes something sinister is afoot at their country estate.

The smart satire cost $4.5 million to produce and has taken almost $111 million in three weeks.

"The Shack," based on a Christian-oriented novel by Canadian author William Young about a grieving man's spiritual journey after his child dies, landed in fourth place with just over $10 million.

Fifth place went to CGI comedy "The Lego Batman Movie," with $7.6 million and an overall box office haul of $158.8 million in five weeks. 

Featuring the voice of Will Arnett as the caped crusader, the Warner Bros spinoff of "The Lego Movie" follows Batman as he tries to save Gotham City from being taken over by the Joker, voiced by Zach Galifianakis.

Rounding out the top 10 are:

"Before I Fall" ($3 million)

"Hidden Figures" ($2.8 million)

"John Wick: Chapter 2" ($2.7 million)

"La La Land" ($1.8 million)

"Fifty Shades Darker" ($1.7 million)

source: AFP