"Smile", a Paramount production signed by director Parker Finn, collected $22 million in revenue between Friday and Sunday, according to estimates by Exhibitor Relations.
The film tells the disturbing story of a therapist, played by Sosie Bacon -- daughter of actors Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick -- who begins to lose touch with reality after witnessing a horrific event involving a patient.
"Smile" is in the lead ahead of another film with a disturbing script, "Don't Worry Darling" ($7.3 million).
Olivia Wilde's film, which stars in it with Florence Pugh, Chris Pine and her boyfriend and pop star Harry Styles, topped the list last weekend.
A kind of harrowing "Truman Show" in 1950s America, "Don't Worry Darling" takes place in Victory, a small model town built in the middle of the desert by a mysterious businessman, where material well-being is guaranteed but from which it is forbidden to leave.
"The Woman King", a historical epic of warriors from the kingdom of Dahomey (West Africa) in the 19th century, with Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis on the bill, slips this weekend to third place with 7 million revenue dollars.
Then come "Bros", a romantic comedy featuring a couple of men (4.8 million), then Avatar (4.7 million), James Cameron's 2009 blockbuster rebroadcast in anticipation of the December release of the second part , "Avatar: The Way of Water".
Here's the rest of the top 10:
6 - "Ponniyin Selvan: Part 1" ($4.1 million)
7 - "Barbarian" (2.8 million)
8 - "Bullet Train" (1.4 million)
9 - "Krypto and the Super Animals" (1.3 million)
10 - "Top Gun: Maverick" (1.2 million)
© 2022 AFP