After finishing in first place three weekends in a row, Wonder Woman 1984 finally met its match with Open Road Films’ The Marksman, which debuted at No. 1 over MLK weekend with an estimated $3.22 million over the three-day period and a projected $3.71 million through Monday.

Starring Liam Neeson in the latest incarnation of his action-hero persona, The Marksman opened in 1,975 locations and boasted heavy turnout from Latino audiences, according to the studio. The film centers on a former Marine living along the Arizona border who must save a young boy from a Mexican drug cartel. Top-performing DMAs included Dallas-Fort Worth, Phoenix, Houston and Salt Lake City.

“Open Road Films is proud to continue our association with Liam Neeson in what is now our 3rd collaboration – THE GREY, HONEST THIEF, and THE MARKSMAN – and our 3rd #1 film together at the theatrical box-office”, said Open Road CEO Tom Ortenberg in a statement.  “We are thrilled to be bringing quality films to our friends in the exhibition community and congratulate Liam, Director Rob Lorenz and the entire filmmaking team.”

Open Road’s last film with Neeson, Honest Thief, opened slightly higher in October with $3.61 million over the three-day frame. It topped out with $14.16 million in North America.

The Croods: A New Age continued its leggy run by actually gaining gross in its eighth weekend, bringing in an estimated $2.04 million over the three-day period — an increase of 13% from last weekend — and $2.9 million over the four-day frame from 1,855 theaters, good enough for third place. The film’s domestic total now stands at $40.15 million.

Third place went to Wonder Woman 1984, which finished with $2.6 million in 2,201 locations Friday-Monday (Warner Bros. did not provide numbers for the three-day frame). Top markets were Salt Lake City, Dallas, Phoenix, Houston and the Greater New York Metro area (NJ, CT and upstate New York). The domestic total for the superhero sequel now stands at $35.8 million.

Finishing in fourth was Universal’s News of the World, which took in an estimated $1.05 million over the Friday-Sunday frame and $1.27 million through Monday from 1,953 theaters. The Tom Hanks Western has $8.72 million to date.

Sony’s Monster Hunter came in fifth place with an estimated $920,000 over the three-day frame and $1.09 million through Monday from 1,694 locations. Its domestic total is $9.2 million.

Disney debuted the studio’s re-release of the 2000 animated comedy The Emperor’s New Groove in 744 theaters and grossed an estimated $169,000 over the three-day frame and $239,000 over the four-day.

OVERSEAS

Wonder Woman 1984 grossed an estimated $5.2 million from 42 markets, bringing its international total to $105.9 million and the global tally to $141.7 million. Top overseas territories for the film include China ($25.4 million), Australia ($16.1 million), Taiwan ($8.6 million), Brazil ($5.4 million) and Japan ($5 million).

The Croods: A New Age brought in an estimated $2.21 million from 17 territories, giving it an overseas total of $94.7 million and a global tally of $134.84 million.

Studio 3-Day Weekend Estimates (Domestic)

FRI, JAN. 15 – SUN, JAN. 17

Note: Warner Bros. only provided a $2.6M four-day holiday weekend estimate, without a three-day weekend estimate in addition. Without any other number from the studio to include, the table below lists the $2.6M figure for Wonder Woman 1984. However, its actual Fri.-Sat.-Sun. gross is probably closer to the $1.8M-$2M range.