DC's 'Shazam!' soars into first place at the box office

The DC Extended Universe is finally flying with some wind behind its back. The well-reviewed, relatively modestly budgeted "Shazam!" debuted with $53.5 million in sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday, handing DC its latest critical and box-office success.

Though one of the oldest characters in DC's superhero stable, "Shazam!" doesn't boast the name-recognition of Batman or Superman. But by scaling back to a $100 million budget and going for the lighter, comic tone, "Shazam!" steadily built up its word of mouth with stellar reviews.

"Shazam!" came out well ahead of the weekend's other top draw, "Pet Sematary." Paramount Pictures' remake of the original 1989 Stephen King adaptation opened in a distant second with $25 million. It's a solid start for "Pet Sematary," though far from the haul that the last adaptation of King's conjured up: "It" opened with $123.4 million in 2017.

Last week's top film, "Dumbo," slid steeply in its second week. Landing in third, the Disney live-action remake made $18.2 million.

Pitched as " 'Big' meets Superman,' " "Shazam!" stars Asher Angel as Billy Batson, a teenage foster kid who transforms into an adult superhero (played by Zachary Levi).

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters:

1. "Shazam!" $53.4 million.

3. "Dumbo," $18.2 million.

4. "Us," $13.8 million.

5. "Captain Marvel," $12.7 million.

6. "The Best of Enemies," $4.5 million.

7. "Five Feet Apart," $3.7 million.

9. "Wonder Park," $2 million.

10. "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," $2 million.