'Kung Fu Panda' a kick at top of box office

"Kung Fu Panda 3" kicked its way to the top of the North American weekend box office, bouncing "The Revenant" to the number two spot, final industry data showed Monday.

The computer-animated comedy from Fox the third instalment of the "Kung Fu Panda" franchise took in $41.3 million its first weekend in North American theatres, 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 sequel's premiere did not live up to the box office bonanza of its first and second instalments, which earned 60.2 million and 47.6 million respectively in 2008 and 2011.

"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.

Exhibitor Relations said it made $12.8 million its sixth week in theatres.

"Star Wars: The Force Awakens," kept up its blockbuster run for a seventh week, pulling in another $11.1 million. It has piled up $895.8 million in North American ticket sales in seven weeks.

Fourth was "The Finest Hours," a rescue-at-sea drama that made $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 $8.4 million in receipts. A sequel starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, the comedy has been in theatres for three weeks.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Dirty Grandpa," $7.6 million

"The Boy," $7.6 million

"The 5th Wave," $7.1 million

"13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi," $6.3 million

"Fifty Shades of Black," $5.9 million