‘Crazy Rich Asians’ sparkles at N.America box office

Left to right, Awkwafina, Jimmy O. Yang, Constance Wu, Kevin Kwan, Henry Golding, Ken Jeong and Michelle Yeoh attend SiriusXM’s Entertainment Weekly Radio Spotlight With The Cast Of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ on August 15, 2018, in New York City. AFP

LOS ANGELES, United States – 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 a 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. /cbb

Rounding out the weekend’s top 10 were:

“Christopher Robin” ($8.9 million)

“BlacKkKlansman” ($7 million)

“Slender Man” ($5 million)

“Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation” ($3.7 million)

“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” ($3.4 million)