• A sixth “Scream” film debuted at the top of the North American box office.
• David A. Gross, that was “an fantastic start for an elite horror movie,” and it took place.
• Michael B. Jordan directs — his first time in that role — while again playing title character Apollo Creed.

A sixth “Scream” film debuted at the top of the North American box office this weekend, with an estimated $44.5 million, according to industry observer Exhibitor Relations, 27 years after the original “Scream” movie gave audiences goosebumps.

According to analyst David A. Gross, that was “an fantastic start for an elite horror movie,” and it took place as Hollywood’s glitterati gathered for the evening’s Oscar ceremonies. “Scream VI,” a Paramount/Spyglass Media production, once more combines mystery with black humor.

Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, and Skeet Ulrich are the cast members of this episode; Neve Campbell was absent because she and the studio were unable to come to an agreement. Last week’s top film, MGM’s boxing drama “Creed III,” came in second, with a take estimated at $27.2 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period.

Michael B. Jordan directs — his first time in that role — while again playing title character Apollo Creed. In third was “65,” a new sci-fi thriller from Sony and Columbia Pictures, at $12.3 million.Adam Driver plays a pilot whose spaceship crashes on an unknown planet, which turns out to be the Earth of 65 million years ago, and has to protect himself and a young passenger from dinosaur attack as well as from a huge asteroid that is about to extinguish much of life on Earth.

Marvel and Disney’s “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” placed fourth, at $7 million. Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly star as the winged title characters.

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