WARNER Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ science fiction film “Dune” took the top spot at the North American box office with an estimated US$40.1 million in its opening weekend, according to studio figures collected by measurement firm Comscore.

Directed by Oscar nominee Denis Villeneuve, the film is a big-screen adaptation of American author Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel of the same name, one of the world’s best-selling science fiction novels of all time.

A mythic and emotionally charged hero’s journey, “Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people.

The film has a star-studded ensemble cast including Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgard, Dave Bautista, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Zendaya, David Dastmalchian and Chinese actor Chang Chen. The film holds an approval rating of 83 percent based on 321 reviews from critics to date on review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. Movie audiences gave it an “A-” on CinemaScore.

Overseas, “Dune” brought in an estimated US$47.4 million this weekend, pushing its international running cume to US$180.6 million for a global total of US$220.7 million. The film pulled in nearly 140 million yuan (US$21.9 million) in China over three days, according to the box office data compiled by Maoyan, a Chinese movie-ticketing and film data platform.

Universal and Blumhouse’s slasher film “Halloween Kills” fell to No. 2 this weekend, taking in US$14.5 million for a North American total of US$73.1 million after 10 days in release.

(SD-Agencies)