The Meg devours competition

LOS ANGELES — Warner Bros.’ over-the-top sci-fi thriller The Meg took an unexpectedly massive chomp out of the North American box office last weekend with $45.4 million in ticket sales, according to figures from measurement firm ComScore.

The PG-13 film — about a giant prehistoric shark that terrorizes beachgoers — was released simultaneously in the United States and China, earning $96.8 million internationally (including $50.3 million in China) for a global cumulative of $141.3 million.

“It just really speaks to the fun-ness of the movie,” said Jeff Goldstein, the studio’s distribution chief, who added that the marketing campaign “didn’t take itself seriously and really played into the popcorn nature of the film.”

“It’s a little bit on the campy side, a little bit cheesy, but in a fun way,” Goldstein added.

He noted the timing for the picture was also right. “I think the date really stands out. A shark movie, you want to see it at the end of the summer.”

Starring action vet Jason Statham as a deep-sea rescue driver who is the only man capable

Jason Statham stars as Jonas Taylor in the science fiction action thriller The Meg. It was a surprise hit, coming in first at last weekend’s box office where it made about $45.4 million. of defeating the 70-foot carnivore, The Meg cost at least $130 million to produce, according to estimates, and is based on an obscure 1997 pulp novel. It earned a B-plus rating on CinemaScore but a 49 percent rotten rating on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes.

In second place, Paramount’s Mission: Impossible — Fallout, now in its third weekend, added $19.3 million for a cumulative $161.3 million.

Disney’s Christoper Robin came in third, adding about $13 million in its second weekend for a cumulative $50.5 million.

Sony Screen Gems’ horror movie Slender Man debuted at No. 4 with about $11.4 million. The film earned a rare Dminus score on CinemaScore and a 15 percent rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Rounding out the top five, Focus Features’ drama BlacKkKlansman opened with $10.8 million, director Spike Lee’s third best debut.

Based on true events, BlacKkKlansman tells the story of an undercover black detective who manages to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan. It earned positive reviews from audiences and critics with an A-minus rating on CinemaScore and a 97 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film, which took the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in May, was timed to the anniversary of the violent clashes between white nationalists and anti-racism counter protesters in Charlottesville, Va. Lee’s film, produced by Jordan Peele (Get Out), is a true-life tale of black police detective Ron Stallworth (played by John David Washington, son of Denzel), who in 1979 infiltrated a Colorado Springs, Colo., cell of the Ku Klux Klan.

LD Entertainment’s comedy Dog Days opened outside the top 10 with about $2.5 million. It earned mixed reviews among audiences and critics, with an A-minus rating on CinemaScore and a 60 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In other notable box office action, Universal’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again crossed the $100 million mark over the weekend with $103.8 million in four weeks and Disney’s Ant-Man and the Wasp crossed the $200 million mark in its sixth week with $203.5 million, becoming the 16th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to do so.