300: Rise of an Empire tops North American box office with $45 million

300: Rise of an Empire topped the North American box office this weekend, earning $45.1 million in the US and Canada.

The sequel to 2006 hit 300 also took $87.8 million worldwide.

300: Rise of an Empire did not equal its predecessor’s first weekend tally of $70.9 million in North America, but still performed far above expectations.

Set in ancient Greece, the movie depicts a sea battle between Greeks and Persians.

The film only briefly features 300 star Gerard Butler as King Leonidas – leader of the Spartan army who famously held off a vastly superior Persian force – concentrating instead on a female warrior played by Casino Royale‘s Eva Green.

Eva Green’s participation is understood to have boosted the female audience for this male-skewed release to 38% – a 9% increase on the original’s 29%.

Outside North America, the film was also the top draw in Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Germany, Spain, Italy and the UK.

Some $12 million of its opening weekend tally from the 58 markets in which it played came from 3D Imax screenings.

In the US and Canada, Noam Murro’s follow-up to Zack Snyder’s comic book-inspired original comfortably saw off Mr. Peabody & Sherman, its nearest competitor.

The animated title about a time-travelling dog and his human son took $32.5 million between Friday and Sunday, according to studio estimates.

Liam Neeson’s airborne action film Non-Stop – last week’s number one – fell to three in this week’s chart, taking $15.4 million in the US and an additional $12 million worldwide.

Toy spin-off The Lego Movie and the Christianity-themed Son of God rounded out this week’s top five, according to box office tracking firm Rentrak.

North American box office Top 5:

1. 300: Rise of an Empire – $45.1 million

2. Mr. Peabody & Sherman – $32.5 million

3. Non-Stop – $15.4 million

4. The Lego Movie – $11 million

5. Son of God – $10 million

Source: Rentrak