BlacKkKlansman got off to a promising start at the box office.
The Spike Lee drama earned $10.8 million in 1,512 theaters, according to Box Office Mojo. That adds up to a per-theater average of $7,142 for the Focus Features release.
The film also marked Lee’s biggest opening since Inside Man, which debuted with $28.9 million in 2006.
Read More: ‘BlacKkKlansman’ Reviews: Critics Applaud the Spike Lee Drama
BlacKkKlansman follows the true story of African-American police detective Ron Stallworth, who infiltrated a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan.
The film stars John David Washington as Stallworth, while Adam Driver portrays the Jewish cop tasked with becoming a card-carrying member of the KKK.
BlacKkKlansman was produced by Jordan Peele and Jason Blum, the team behind Get Out, on a reported budget of $15 million.
It won the Grand Prix award in May at the Cannes Film Festival, and was timed to open on the first anniversary of last year’s deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.
The film’s $10.8 million in ticket sales landed it in fifth place at the box office.
Elsewhere, The Meg swam past expectations with $44.5 million in ticket sales, for a first-place finish.
The shark movie starring Jason Statham, Li Bingbing and Rainn Wilson cost a reported $130 million to make, and was co-financed by China’s Gravity Pictures.
The Warner Bros. sci-fi film played in 4,118 theaters, for a per-location average of $10,806.
Mission: Impossible — Fallout slipped to second place with $20 million after two weeks at the top.
Disney’s Christopher Robin took third with $12.4 million, and Slender Man was fourth with $11.3 million.
