‘Incredibles 2’ makes heroic N. America box office debut

Los Angeles (AFP) – “Incredibles 2,” the long-awaited return of a quirky animated superhero family from Disney-Pixar, reigned supreme at the North American box office, raking in a record $180 million in its debut, industry estimates showed Sunday.

It was the highest ever opening for an animated film in the US and Canada, easily besting the $135 million debut of its Disney-Pixar stablemate, “Finding Dory” (2016).

The film tells the story of the Parr family — matriarch Helen (Holly Hunter) is called upon to help bring the world’s hiding superheroes back into the open, as husband Bob (Craig T. Nelson) navigates the day-to-day work of being a homemaker.

Their children Violet (Sarah Vowell) and Dash (Huck Milner) are back again, along with baby Jack-Jack, whose devastating super powers are about to be unleashed.

In second place was female heist flick “Ocean’s 8,” which followed up on a big opening by earning $19.6 million in its second week, according to Exhibitor Relations.

With an all-star cast led by Sandra Bullock and supported by Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling and Rihanna, the Warner Bros. sequel was Hollywood’s latest experiment — after “Ghostbusters” — in replacing an all-male cast with female stars. 

The film stars Bullock as Debbie Ocean, sister of Danny Ocean (originally played by George Clooney), as she assembles a gang of talented women to plan a seemingly impossible diamond heist from the Met Gala in New York.

Adult comedy “Tag” opened in third place at $14.6 million. It tells the story of childhood pals (led by Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner) who keep up a game of cross-country tag for decades, sometimes playing at the oddest of moments.

Fourth place went to “Solo: A Star Wars Story,” starring Alden Ehrenreich as a young version of the swashbuckling space pilot first played by Harrison Ford. The Disney film took in $9.1 million, and nearly $200 million overall in North America.

Fifth place went to R-rated superhero flick “Deadpool 2” at $8.8 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

“Hereditary” ($7.0 million)

“Superfly” ($6.3 million)

“Avengers: Infinity War” ($5.3 million)

“Adrift” ($2.1 million)

“Book Club” ($1.85 million)