NEW YORK — The R-rated comedy, left for dead by some Hollywood studios, again reached No. 1 at the box office over the weekend thanks to the raunchy coming-of-age tale “Good Boys,” about a trio of 12-year-olds on a crude misadventure.

“Good Boys” surpassed expectations to debut with $21 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, dethroning the “Fast & Furious” spinoff “Hobbs & Shaw,” which slid to second with $14.1 million in its third weekend. Not since Melissa McCarthy’s “The Boss” came in No. 1 all the way back in April 2016 has an R-rated comedy topped the North American box office.

Directed by Gene Stupnitsky (who co-wrote the script with Lee Eisenberg), “Good Boys” stars Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon as sixth graders trying to make it to their first kissing party. The movie’s much-watched red-band trailer traded on its ironies: Tremblay, Williams and Noon are all too young to see their own movie alone.

Sony’s “The Angry Birds Movie 2,” on a budget of $65 million, opened with a paltry $10.5 million domestically, though it added $19.4 million internationally.

Sony’s “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood,” however, grossed $53.7 million overseas after expanding to 46 markets — the largest foreign launch for any Quentin Tarantino film, and the best worldwide haul for any film this weekend.

“47 Meters Down: Uncaged,” from Entertainment Studios, also showed little bite. It debuted with $9 million, a slight downtick from the $11.2 million the first one opened with in 2017.

“Blinded by the Light,” which Warner Bros. plunked down $15 million for at the Sundance Film Festival, took in $4.5 million from 2,307 locations. The film, which has been warmly reviewed, is about a British-Pakistani teen growing up in 1980s England whose life is transformed after he discovers Springsteen.

And United Artists’ “Where’d You Go Bernadette” grossed $3.5 million from 2,404 locations. Based on Maria Semple’s 2012 comic novel, Richard Linklater’s film earned lukewarm reviews for its tale of a missing mother (Cate Blanchett).

Estimated ticket sales are for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore.

1. “Good Boys,” $21 million ($2.1 million international).

2. “Hobbs & Shaw,” $14.1 million ($45.7 million international).

3. “The Lion King,” $11.9 million ($33.8 million international).

4. “The Angry Birds Movie 2,” $10.5 million ($19.4 million international).

5. “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” $10.1 million ($4.4 million international).

6. “47 Meters Down: Uncaged,” $9 million.

7. “Dora and the Lost City of Gold,” $8.5 million ($6.6 million international).

8. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” $7.6 million ($53.7 million international).

9. “Blinded by the Light,” $4.5 million.

10. “Art of Racing in the Rain,” $4.4 million.