LOS ANGELES, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Sony's action movie "The Equalizer 2" topped North American box office in its opening weekend with an estimated 35.82 million U.S. dollars, defeating Universal's "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" in a close race.

"The Equalizer 2" is a sequel to the 2014 film "The Equalizer" which was based on the TV series of the same name and brought in a total of 101.4 million dollars in North America theatres. Both of the installments were directed by Antoine Fuqua. The film stars Denzel Washington among others. It's the first-ever sequel of Washington. The plot follows a retired CIA agent as he sets out on a path of revenge after one of his friends is killed.

"Denzel Washington shows why he is one of the biggest movie stars in the world," wrote movie analyst Paul Dergarabedian at comScore in an email to Xinhua.

"Equalizer 2" earned an A CinemaScore and a 51 percent Rotten Tomatoes score as of Sunday.

Another newcomer, Universal's musical romantic comedy film "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" came in second with an estimated 34.38 million dollars in its opening weekend. It is a follow-up to the 2008 film "Mamma Mia!" which was based on the musical of the same name. "Mamma Mia!" grossed more than 144 million in North America and 606 million worldwide, according to studio figures collected by comScore.

Directed and written by Ol Parker, "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" stars Christine Baranski, Pierce Brosnan, Lily James, Amanda Seyfried and so on. Impressively, 83 percent of the audience of the female-fronted film in its opening weekend was female.

Sony Pictures Animation's "Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation" dropped from last weekend's No.1 to the third with an estimated 23.15 million dollars in its second weekend. The film has earned 91.08 million dollars in North America through Sunday. The computer-animated comedy film is the third installment in the "Hotel Transylvania" franchise.

Disney and Marvel Studios' superhero film "Ant-Man And The Wasp" landed in fourth place with an estimated 16.12 million dollars in its third weekend, pushing its North American cume to 164.6 million dollars.

Disney and Pixar's animated superhero film "Incredibles 2" finished fifth with an estimated 11.52 million dollars in its sixth weekend. The film has brought in a total of 557.3 million dollars in North America and 940.4 million dollars worldwide.