LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Kung Fu Panda 3 kicked its way to the top of the North American box office over the weekend, bouncing The Revenant to the number two spot, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The computer-animated comedy from Fox - the third instalment of the Kung Fu Panda franchise - took in an estimated US$41 million (S$58.38 million) its first weekend in North American theatres, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

Following the adventures of Po as he evolves from martial arts student to teacher, the US-Chinese production features the voices of stars Jack Black, Dustin Hoffman and Angelina Jolie.

The Revenant, a grisly tale of back-country survival and revenge starring Leonardo di Caprio and showered with Oscar nominations, settled into second after topping the rankings last week.

Exhibitor Relations estimated the film made US$12.4 million its sixth week in theaters.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens, continued its blockbuster run for a seventh week, pulling in another US$10.8 million. It has piled up US$895.4 million in North American ticket sales in seven weeks.

Fourth was The Finest Hours, a rescue-at-sea drama that made an estimated US$10.3 million on its debut weekend.

Starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck, it's based on the true story of a 1952 rescue of a ship that breaks apart during a raging New England nor'easter.

Comedy Ride Along 2 was fifth with US$8.3 million in receipts. A sequel starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, the comedy has been in theaters for three weeks.

Rounding out the top ten were: - The Boy, US$7.9 million - Dirty Grandpa, US$7.6 million - The 5th Wave, US$7 million - Fifty Shades of Black, US$6.2 million - 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, US$6 million,