NEW YORK (WP) - Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, a sequel about the famed Japanese movie monster, opened as the top film in North America, outdrawing a biopic about pop star Elton John and toppling Aladdin after just a week at No. 1.

The monster film brought in US$49 million (S$67 million).

That missed analysts' estimates of US$53 million to US$56 million.

Elton John biopic Rocketman opened with US$25 million in third place while thriller Ma opened in fourth position with US$18.3 million.

A loyal fan base of adult males helped the new Godzilla.

The human cast includes Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown and Ken Watanabe.

Ma continues the successful Universal/Blumhouse formula of peddling inexpensively made films to horror fans.

Box Office Pro was forecasting a US$19.9 million weekend opening for the picture, which cost US$5 million to produce.

Octavia Spencer stars as a lonely woman who lets local teens party at her house.