Shyamalan's 'Glass' dominates North American box office

"Glass," a superhero thriller both financed and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, dominated North American box offices this weekend, taking in $40.6 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday.

The Universal film, a sequel to Shyamalan's "Unbreakable" ( 2000 ) and "Split" ( 2016 ), stars Bruce Willis as the superhuman known as "The Overseer" locked in a psychiatric ward with nemesis and mass murderer Samuel L. Jackson, AKA "Mr. Glass."

Its estimated three-day take -- at the start of the four-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the US -- saw it vault past the previous weekend's leader, "The Upside" from STX Films, which took in $15.7 million for second spot. 

"The Upside" features Bryan Cranston as a wealthy quadriplegic who hires ex-convict Kevin Hart as his caretaker. Critics have called the script, a remake of a 2011 French film, "corny" but praised the two lead actors.

In third was Warner Bros.'s superhero film "Aquaman," down one spot from last weekend, with a take of $10.3 million. The film, starring Jason Momoa as the Atlantean king, has generated more than $1 billion in box office revenues worldwide.

Fourth spot went to a surprise entry -- anime film "Dragon Ball Super: Broly" from Funimation Films, with $9 million. The fantasy martial arts movie is the 20th "Dragon Ball" film and appears to be having one of the best showings of any in the series.

Read also: ‘Glass’ provides bittersweet ending to Shyamalan’s ‘Unbreakable’ trilogy

And in fifth was "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," still performing well in its sixth week out at $7.3 million. The Sony movie won the Best Animated Movie award at the recent Golden Globe ceremony.

Rounding out the weekend's top 10 were:

"A Dog's Way Home" ($7.1 million)

"Escape Room" ($5.3 million)

"Mary Poppins Returns" ($5.2 million)

"Bumblebee" ($4.7 million)

"On the Basis of Sex" ($4.0 million)