LOS ANGELES: "The Devil Wears Prada 2" withstood a strong challenge from "Mortal Kombat II" to remain atop the North American box office for a second week running, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The hotly anticipated sequel to the 2006 smash hit about the cutthroat world of high fashion – starring Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci – earned $43 million in US and Canadian theaters, Exhibitor Relations reported.

That puts the worldwide total for the Disney/20th Century film at a whopping $433 million.

Streep won a Golden Globe and received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress in her initial turn as the imperious magazine editor Miranda Priestly – who is not so subtly based on longtime Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

"Mortal Kombat II," a Warner Bros sequel based on the popular martial arts fantasy video game, debuted in second place at $40 million.

"This is an excellent opening for the second episode in an action thriller series," said analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

"The weekend figure is well above average for the genre, and it's close to double the start of the previous film, although that movie opened during the pandemic."

"Michael," the biopic about late music superstar Michael Jackson, dropped to third place but still took in $36.5 million.

The Lionsgate movie – which chronicles the legendary artist's rise from child star to one of the world's most famous pop icons, but does not include any material about allegations of sexual abuse – has taken in over $575 million at the global box office.

Jaafar Jackson, the singer's nephew, stars as his uncle, in his first acting role.

"The Sheep Detectives," a family-friendly mystery film from Amazon MGM, debuted in fourth place at $15.9 million.

The film stars Hugh Jackman as a shepherd who reads mysteries to his flock in an English village. When he is found dead, the sheep (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Patrick Stewart, among others) band together to solve the crime.

"This is a solid opening for a live-action/animation hybrid," said Gross.

In fifth place was another debut, James Cameron's concert documentary "Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft - The Tour Live in 3D" at $7.5 million. The Paramount film follows the Oscar- and Grammy-winning singer at her shows in Manchester.

Rounding out the top 10 were “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” with $6.6 million, “Project Hail Mary” with $6.1 million, “Hokum” with $3.3 million, “Deep Water” with $779,000 and “Animal Farm” with $664,000.

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'Devil Wears Prada 2' holds strong at North America box office