LOS ANGELES, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Amid a surge of the coronavirus delta variant cases, Warner Bros. Pictures' superhero action adventure "The Suicide Squad" led ticket sales at the North American box office with a less-than-expected 26.5 million U.S. dollars in its opening weekend, according to studio figures collected by measurement firm Comscore.

The latest adaptation of DC Comics franchise, featuring a collection of the most degenerate delinquents in the DC lineup, was directed by James Gunn and stars an ensemble cast including Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, David Dastmalchian and Daniela Melchior.

The film follows a task force of convicts who are sent to a remote, enemy-infused island of Corto Maltese in do-or-die assignment. Trekking through a jungle teeming with militant adversaries and guerrilla forces at every turn, the squad must finish a search-and-destroy mission.

At the international box office, "The Suicide Squad" took in an estimated 35 million dollars from 69 markets this weekend, pushing its international cume to 45.7 million dollars for a global total of 72.2 million dollars.

The film has received largely positive reviews with an approval rating of 92 percent based on 255 reviews to date on review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. Movie audiences gave it a "B+" on CinemaScore.

Disney's fantasy adventure film "Jungle Cruise" moved to second place with 15.69 million dollars in its second weekend for a North American total of 65.31 million dollars.

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and inspired by Disney's theme park attraction of the same name, the 200-million-dollar film, starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, follows a wisecracking skipper and an intrepid researcher on a quest to discover an ancient healing tree deep in the heart of the Amazon jungle.

The film grossed an estimated 15.1 million dollars in 49 overseas markets for a global cume of 121.8 million dollars. Some key markets have not yet opened for the film, including China.

In third place, Universal Pictures' thriller "Old" took in 4.14 million dollars in its third weekend. The film has grossed 38.52 million dollars in North America through Sunday.

Inspired by the 2010 graphic novel Sandcastle by Pierre Oscar Levy and Frederik Peeters, the PG13-rated film follows a family on a tropical holiday who discover that the secluded beach where they are relaxing for a few hours is somehow causing them to age rapidly and reducing their entire lives into a single day.

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, the film stars an impressive international cast including Golden Globe winner Gael Garcia Bernal, Vicky Krieps, Rufus Sewell, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Abbey Lee, Aaron Pierre, Alex Wolff and Chinese American actor Ken Leung.

Disney and Marvel Studios' spy thriller "Black Widow" landed in fourth place with 4 million dollars in its fifth weekend, pushing its North American total to 174.35 million dollars for a worldwide total of 359.8 million dollars.

Directed by Cate Shortland, Scarlett Johansson reprises her role as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow in the latest Marvel film. She confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.

Focus Features' crime drama film "Stillwater" finished fifth with 2.86 million dollars in its second weekend for a North American total of 10 million dollars.

Directed by Tom McCarthy, the film stars Matt Damon as an American oil-rig roughneck from Oklahoma who travels to Marseille to visit his estranged daughter, in prison for a murder she claims she did not commit. Confronted with language barriers, cultural differences, and a complicated legal system, the father builds a new life for himself in France as he makes it his personal mission to exonerate his daughter. Enditem

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