This result makes its director, Michael B. Jordan, who once again plays the boxer Apollo Creed, “the undefeated champion of the box office,” commented the analysis firm Exhibitor Relations.
“This opening is sensational,” said analyst David A. Gross at Franchise Entertainment. “Weekends like this are good news for the industry,” he added.
In this ninth film in the “Rocky” franchise – the first without Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa – Creed comes out of retirement to confront an old friend played by Jonathan Majors.
Second place at the box office went to “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,” starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly, which between Friday and Sunday grossed $12.5 million.
“Intoxicated Bear,” a horror-comedy inspired by the true story of a black bear who wreaks havoc in a US forest after eating a stray cache of cocaine, took third place with $11 million in grosses.
Fourth place went to the animated film “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village,” the sequel to the Crunchyroll streaming service anime, which earned $10.1 million.
The drama “Jesus Revolution,” which tells the story of a 1960s religious movement in California, came in fifth. It grossed $8.7 million.
Rounding out the top 10:
6 – “Avatar: The Sense of Water” ($3.6 million)
7 – “Agent Fortune: The Big Hoax” ($3.2 million)
8 – “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” ($2.7 million)
9 – “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” ($1.2 million)
10 – “80 for Brady” ($845,000)