SONY Sony Group Corporation

Antoine Fuqua's "The Magnificent Seven" remake rode the star power of Denzel Washington to an estimated $35 million debut, topping North American ticket sales over the weekend.

Sony Pictures' "The Magnificent Seven" wasn't cheap to make—it cost about $90 million—so its path to profitability isn't ensured. Directed by Mr. Fuqua (whose "Training Day" and "The Equalizer" also starred Mr. Washington), the film made splashy premieres at both the Toronto International Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival.

Coming in at a distant second was Warner Bros.' "Storks," an animated release where the large-winged birds have given up the baby delivery business for online sales. The film, which cost about $70 million to make, opened with $21.8 million. Directed by Nicholas Stoller and Doug Sweetland, its voice cast is led by Andy Samberg.

The rest of the top 10 was populated by holdovers, with "Sully" slotting in at third with $13.8 million in its third week. It has now grossed $92.4 million domestically. A bigger test of Tom Hanks's drawing power awaits the actor next month with the release of "Inferno," in which he reprises his role as Robert Langdon in the Dan Brown franchise.

"The Magnificent Seven" slots in as one of the biggest openings for a Western ever, though the genre's heyday predated modern wide releases. The only Westerns to debut better, not accounting for inflation, bended the genre in other directions: sci-fi in the case of "Cowboys & Aliens" ($36.4 million in 2011) and animation in "Rango" ($38.1 million, also in 2011).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 26, 2016 00:15 ET (04:15 GMT)

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