LOS ANGELES — The box office has a new king and his name is John Wick. The third installment of the hyper violent Keanu Reeves franchise has taken the top spot at the North American box office and ended the three-week reign of “Avengers: Endgame.”

Studios on Sunday said “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum” grossed an estimated $57 million in its opening weekend. Not only did it far exceed expectations, it’s a franchise best that nearly doubled the opening of the second film, which itself doubled the opening of the first film from 2014.

The audience, in other words, is growing exponentially for this series about a talented assassin who never seems to get a break. This time, there’s a $14 million price tag on his head.

Internationally “John Wick 3” earned $35.2 million from 66 territories.

“Avengers: Endgame” slid to second place in its fourth weekend with $29.4 million. Domestically, where the film has grossed $711 million, it’s now second only to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($937 million) and globally, with $2.6 billion, it’s still second to “Avatar” ($2.8 billion).

In its second weekend, “Pokemon Detective Pikachu” also continued to do well, placing third with $24.8 million. But with the high-performing trifecta of John Wick, the Avengers and Pikachu, there weren’t very many moviegoers left over for the less flashy newcomers like “A Dog’s Journey” and “The Sun Is Also a Star.”

Amblin Entertainment and Reliance Entertainment’s “A Dog’s Journey” opened in fourth with an underwhelming $8 million. The Universal-distributed film is a sequel to the 2017 hit “A Dog’s Purpose.”

Most disappointing, however, is the young adult adaptation “The Sun Is Also a Star” which grossed only $2.6 million from over 2,000 screens and landed in eighth place.

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

1. “John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum,” $57 million

2. “Avengers: Engame,” $29.4 million

3. “Pokemon Detective Pikachu,” $24.8 million

4. “A Dog’s Journey,” $8 million

5. “The Hustle,” $6.1 million

6. “The Intruder,” $4 million

7. “Long Shot,” $3.4 million

8. “The Sun Is Also a Star,” $2.6 million

9. “Poms,” $2.1 million

10. “Uglydolls,” $1.6 million