LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Paramount's horror film "Scream" sprinted to the top of box office in its North American debut, unseating superhero film "Spider-Man: No Way Home" with a three-day estimate of 30.6 million U.S. dollars, according to studio figures released by measurement firm Comscore on Sunday.

The fifth installment in the "Scream" film franchise is a direct sequel to "Scream 4," which earned around 38 million dollars in North America for a global total of 97 million dollars in 2011.

Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town's deadly past in the latest "Scream" film directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette return to their iconic roles in the film alongside Melissa Barrera, Kyle Gallner, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette and Jenna Ortega.

Overseas, the film took in 18 million dollars from 50 markets this weekend for a global cume of 48.6 million dollars.

The film holds an approval rating of 75 percent based on 190 reviews from critics to date on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. Movie audiences gave it a "B+" on CinemaScore.

After four weeks at the top of the North American box office, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" moved to second place with 20.8 million dollars in its fifth weekend.

The film, co-produced by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, has grossed a huge 698.7 million dollars in the United States and Canada for a global total of 1.625 billion dollars through Sunday.

Based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, the latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the sequel to the 2017 "Spider-Man: Homecoming" and 2019 "Spider-Man: Far From Home." Directed by Jon Watts, it is the third Tom Holland-led Spider-Man film.

In a distant third place, Universal's animated musical comedy film "Sing 2" brought in 8.27 million dollars in its fourth weekend for a North American total of 119.35 million dollars.

Directed by Garth Jennings, the film features an all-star cast of voice talents, including Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly. Buster Moon, the ever-optimistic koala who owns the Moon theater, and his performers must persuade the world's most reclusive rock star to join them for the opening of a dazzling stage extravaganza in the sequel.

Universal's spy film "The 355" landed in fourth place with 2.34 million dollars in its second weekend. The film has grossed 8.41 million dollars in North America to date.

Directed by Simon Kinberg, the film follows a group of female agents from around the world, who must work together to protect the world when a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands.

Twentieth Century Studios' spy action film "The King's Man" finished fifth with 2.31 million dollars in its fourth weekend for a North America total of 28.68 million dollars.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, the prequel to the 2014 "Kingsman: The Secret Service" and 2017 "Kingsman: The Golden Circle" stars Ralph Fiennes, Gemma Arterton, Rhys Ifans, Matthew Goode, Tom Hollander and Harris Dickinson among others.

As a collection of history's worst tyrants and criminal masterminds gather to plot a war to wipe out millions, someone must race against time to stop them in the new film which presents the story of the birth of the Kingsman organization, a secret independent international intelligence agency.