Meg Devours the Competition

Shark thriller The Meg devoured the top spot at the box office with $44.5 million, besting forecasts that had the Jason Statham-led film (observers wagered it would bring in less than half that).

After two weeks in the top slot, Tom Cruise‘s Mission: Impossible – Fallout plunged to second place with $20 million. Overall, the Cruise film has raked in $162 million in three weeks. Disney‘s Christopher Robin, starring Ewan McGregor, came in third with $12.4 million, and the horror movie Slender Man landed in fourth with $11.3 million.

Spike Lee‘s BlacKkKlansman, starring John David Washington (Denzel‘s son) and Adam Driver, brought in $10.8 million, landing it in fifth place.

According to ComScore, overall box office is up 8.4 percent year-to-date.