JJ Abrams’ latest sci-fi spectacular Super 8 conquered the US box office this weekend, taking on mutants, hungover tourists and kung fu pandas to clinch the number one spot.
After receiving rave reviews from early screenings, Abrams' movie – which is set in the ’70s and follows a group of kids whose town is terrorised by a mysterious force – took $37m in its first weekend.
Its nearest competition came from the still strong X-prequel X-Men: First Class , which had a decent second week with $25m (bringing its domestic total to $98.8m).
The Hangover: Part II hung around in third ($18.5m), while sequels Kung Fu Panda 2 and Pirates Of The Caribbean 4 landed fourth and fifth respectively with $16m and $10.8m.
In sixth place was Kristen Wiig’s raucous bridal comedy Bridesmaids ($10.1m), while Heather Graham's lightweight Judy Moody And The Not Bummer Summer opened with an unsurprisingly low $6.2m in seventh.
Box office holdovers filled out the remaining top ten spots, with Midnight In Paris in eighth ($6.1m), Thor in ninth ($2.3m, taking its domestic total to a godly $173m), and Fast Five in tenth ($1.7m).
