Director Shane Black’s The Predator managed to hunt The Nun off the top-spot at the domestic box office this weekend, despite a less than stellar opening.

The action-horror flick drew in a $24 million US debut, for a worldwide cume of $54.7 million; by no means astounding numbers, and the picture still has a long way to go to justify Fox’s pricey $88 million production budget (inflated due to costly reshoots). $24 million is a contextually decent pull however for a franchise that, despite its cultural significance, has rarely garnered much in the way of financial success. The Predator marks the second-highest domestic opening for the franchise, not adjusted for inflation, behind only 2010’s Predators – which raked in $24.7 million.

It also appears that even in the age of the #MeToo movement, the scandal surrounding The Predator – in which Shane Black hired his friend Steven Wilder Striegel, a registered sex offender, and shot a scene between his character and actress Olivia Munn’s that was later removed at the behest of the studio – has not significantly affected the box office takings of the film. In a statement, Fox’s head of domestic distribution Chris Aronson said “I don’t think it dissuaded anyone who wasn’t predestined to go. I think it had minimal, if any, impact.”

The Predator is in UK cinemas now, rated 15. It currently holds a 49 MetaScore, and a less-than-ideal 34% on Rotten Tomatoes. Read Movie Marker’s two-star review here.

The Conjuring’s cinematic universe looks set to welcome another success story, as The Nun is currently tracking for a $36-$45 million opening weekend, with some outlets even being so bold as to estimate a $50 million domestic debut.

The Nun, the fifth film in The Conjuring franchise (and a direct spinoff of / prequel to The Conjuring 2), will see a priest and a novitiate embroiled in a mystery over the apparent suicide of a lady of the cloth in 1950’s Romania. Buzz is strong for the fright flick, which is currently outpacing previous horror hits Get Out and A Quiet Place in comparative pre-sales, and extended-universe connections are expected to drive ticket numbers.

If The Nun manages to eke out to the top of its projections it would score a franchise-best opening. 2013’s The Conjuring currently holds that honour, with a $41.8 million debut. Together, The Conjuring cinematic universe has amassed over $1.1 billion worldwide across five films.

The Nun is in UK cinemas from tomorrow, rated 15.

Tom Cruise’s sixth outing as super-spy Ethan Hunt, Mission: Impossible – Fallout, has topped the international box office yet again after a huge $77 million opening weekend in China – bringing the film’s worldwide total to $89.1 million last week.

The espionage thriller, which has received high critical acclaim and been touted as one of the best action flicks of the past decade, has now grossed a reported $649 million internationally from a budget of $178 million. $77 million marks the highest opening in China for the franchise to date, and indeed for any film fronted by Tom Cruise.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout was directed by Christopher McQuarrie and also stars Henry Cavill, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Rebecca Ferguson, and Alec Baldwin. It is in UK cinemas now, rated 12A