Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again aligned with industry forecasts to make an estimated $34.4 million in North America over the weekend.
That’s higher than the opening gross of the 2008 original, which made $27.7 million in its first frame – even though the sequel is not expected to surpass its predecessor’s overall lifetime takings.
But The Equalizer 2 – starring Denzel Washington – caused a mild upset by coming in ahead of its own expectations, narrowly beating the ABBA musical with a strong $35.8 million.
These are still just estimates, with official figures yet to follow – but even if it does have to settle for the silver medal, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again has still had a triumphant launch.
Its international revenue has been impressive, with a $42.4 million haul taking its global bow to $76.8 million.
In the United Kingdom alone, it took $13.1 million – its best numbers outside the USA, and officially ending a disappointingly quiet few weeks at UK cinemas, where only Incredibles 2 has truly shone.
Billboard reports that The Equalizer benefitted from drawing a more ethnically diverse audience than the largely white Mamma Mia franchise.
The latter was a big hit with females, however: it is estimated that on Friday, the movie’s opening day, 80% of attendees were women.
The musical has had much better reviews than the first film, currently sitting at 79% on Rotten Tomatoes.
That’s a big uptick on the 54% rating achieved by Mamma Mia! back in 2008, and its also better than the 50% score garnered by Equalizer 2.
The latter follows retired CIA agent Robert McCall (Denzel Washington) has he sets out for revenge after the death of a friend.
It is Washington’s first sequel, and incidentally Mamma Mia 2 is Streep’s – and it continues a strong year for legacy franchises, after the huge success of Incredibles 2, Ocean’s 8, Avengers: Infinity War and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.
Last week Christine Baranski and Pierce Brosnan appeared to back the idea of a third Mamma Mia movie.
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again is out now.