Glass tops North American box office

M. Night Shyamalan's Glass has topped the North American box office in its opening weekend (18-20Jan19).

The sequel to the filmmaker's movies Unbreakable and Split has earned $40 million (£31.1 million) to take the top spot. According to Variety, it will close with $47 million (£36.5 million) over the four-day Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend on Monday (21Jan19).

Glass, which stars Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson from 2000's Unbreakable and James McAvoy from 2016's Split, is the third and final film in the trilogy. It has received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, but Shyamalan is thrilled he was able to complete the franchise.

"In the five minutes I have been alone in a hotel room, I've been reflecting about it all and I feel nostalgic about it and grateful," he said earlier this month. "It feels like a chapter closing on a part of a career, from, like, 21 years old until now, and I can't believe I've had the fortitude and the love from everybody, the support from the fans and the studio, to do this... It's so miraculous that this movie was made."

Meanwhile, Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston's The Upside is continuing to hold strong with $15 million (£11.6 million) over the weekend and an estimated $18.2 million (£14.1 million) for the four-day weekend.

Blockbuster film Aquaman, which stars Jason Momoa and Amber Heard, comes in third place with $12.4 million (£9.6 million) for its four-day estimate, which brings its North American earnings to $306 million (237.7 million). The superhero film's global earnings passed $1 billion last week (ends18Jan19).

Dragon Ball Super: Broly and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse round out the top five with $10.7 million (£8.3 million) and $10.2 million (£7.9 million), respectively.