‘Creed III’ punches its way to top of North America box office

MGM’s boxing drama ‘Creed III’ scored an opening-round knockout this weekend, taking in an estimated $58.7 million to top North America’s box office in one of the biggest debuts ever for a sports film.

That made first-time director Michael B. Jordan -- who again plays rock-hard boxer Apollo Creed -- the “undefeated box office champion,” said industry analyst Exhibitor Relations.

Rounding out the top 10 were: ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ ($3.6 million), ‘Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre’ ($3.2 million), ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’ ($2.7 million), ‘Magic Mike’s Last Dance’ ($1.2 million), ‘80 for Brady’ ($845,000).