'Kung Fu Panda' kicks up box office rankings

The computer-animated comedy from Fox -- the third installment of the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise -- took in an estimated $41 million its first weekend in North American theaters, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

Following the adventures of Po as he evolves from martial arts student to teacher, the US-Chinese production features the voices of stars Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie.

"The Revenant," a grisly tale of back-country survival and revenge starring Leonardo DiCaprio and showered with Oscar nominations, settled into second after topping the rankings last week. READ: The Revenant: A harrowing adventure of survival driven by love and revenge

Exhibitor Relations estimated the film made $12.4 million its sixth week in theaters.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," continued its blockbuster run for a seventh week, pulling in another $10.8 million. It has piled up $895.4 million in North American ticket sales in seven weeks.

Fourth was "The Finest Hours," a rescue-at-sea drama that made an estimated $10.3 million on its debut weekend.

Starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck, it's based on the true story of a 1952 rescue of a ship that breaks apart during a raging New England nor'easter.

Comedy "Ride Along 2" was fifth with $8.3 million in receipts. A sequel starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, the comedy has been in theaters for three weeks.

Rounding out the top ten were:

-- "The Boy," $7.9 million

-- "Dirty Grandpa," $7.6 million

-- "The 5th Wave," $7 million

-- "Fifty Shades of Black," $6.2 million