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On the box office express, Bullet Train rides to No. 1

Brad Pitt snagged a one-way ticket to box office success following the theatrical debut of Bullet Train, director David Leitch's action comedy about five assassins aboard a fast-moving bullet train in Japan.

The film opened at No. 1 at the North American box office with $30.1 million and a projected $62.5 million worldwide, according to Comscore. Brian Tyree Henry, Bad Bunny, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Joey King, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Sandra Bullock also star in the adaptation of Kōtarō Isaka's 2010 novel Maria Beetle, which tells the story of a group of killers who discover that their respective missions have a common denominator.

Pitt reunites with Leitch, his former stuntman-turned-filmmaker behind action favorites John Wick and Atomic Blonde, for the project. "He's developed into a director with his own vernacular, his own language, and it's really fun to see," Pitt said of Lietch during EW's Around the Table (above) with the cast. "And to get to come on board in that capacity and now with my director, David Leitch, the ultimate author of the piece, was really beautiful symmetry for our friendship."

Bullet Train
Bullet Train

Scott Garfield/Sony Brad Pitt and Aaron Taylor-Johnson in 'Bullet Train'

Both Pitt and Leitch mined inspiration from none other than Jackie Chan for the big fight sequences. "He's just the greatest and our Buster Keaton," Pitt said of the Hong Kong actor and martial artist. "To be able to do something that was designed in that direction and in his slipstream was really fun. So the parameters became the opportunity."

Elsewhere, comedian Jo Koy's Easter Sunday, centered on a Filipino-American man who returns home to celebrate Easter with his bickering and loving family, also debuted in the top 10 at No. 8, opening with $5.2 million. Action ultimately reigned supreme this weekend, as the star-studded animated action adventure DC League of Super-Pets featuring voice-work from Dwayne Johnson, Keanu Reeves, Kate McKinnon, John Krasinski, Diego Luna, and more enjoyed the No. 2 spot during its second week in theaters.

The film about a ragtag group of animals with superpowers earned an additional $11.2 million. Nope, Jordan Peele's sci-fi horror centered on an otherworldly phenomenon lurking in the California skies, came in third with an additional $8.5 million. Thor: Love and Thunder and Minions: The Rise of Gru rounded out the top five at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Director Taika Waititi's fourth installment of the Thor franchise earned an additional $7.6 million, while the Despicable Me prequel earned an additional $7.1 million.

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