This image released by Sony Pictures shows the character Red, voiced by Jason Sudeikis, in a scene from “The Angry Birds Movie.”— AP

"The Angry Birds Movie" has flown to victory at the US box office with a $39 million opening weekend at 3,932 locations, handily topping "Captain America: Civil War" and "Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising." The launch for Sony's animated avian tale performed in line with forecasts as did the third weekend of "Captain America" with $33.1 million at 4,266 sites for a 54% decline. Universal's "Neighbors 2" finished in third with a solid $21.8 million at 3,384 screens-although the sequel was off 55% from the 2014 launch of the original "Neighbors."

Warner Bros' opening of action-comedy "The Nice Guys" reeled in a moderate $11.3 million at 2,865 screens, or about half the "Neighbors 2" number as both battled for the attention of comedy fans. Related Film Review: 'The Angry Birds Movie' "Angry Birds," based on Rovio's popular video game app, generated an A+ CinemaScore among the core under 25 audience. Josh Greenstein, Sony's president of worldwide marketing and distribution, pointed to a strong international performance with a $94 million weekend worldwide with 47 first-place finishes.

"Rovio and Sony Imageworks were able to translate video game characters into a globally branded film, which was a major challenge," he added. The massive marketing campaign featured tie-ins with more than 100 partners. Greenstein noted that "Angry Birds" should be able to hold well in coming weeks, with no other major competition in the family market until Disney opens "Finding Dory" on June 17. The film, directed by Fergal Reilly and Clay Kaytis, is set on an island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds - except for Red (voiced by Jason Sudeikis), speedy Chuck (Josh Gad) and Bomb (Danny McBride). Its worldwide total has hit $150 million with a launch last weekend in most foreign markets.

"Captain America" held impressively from its second weekend, which saw the eighth-highest of all time at $72.6 million. Should the $33.1 million estimate hold, "Captain America" will wind up tied with 2012's "The Hunger Games" as the 17th highest-grosser in its third weekend. "Captain America" crossed the $1 billion mark on Friday to become the 25th film to hit the milestone. Its domestic total has reached $347.4 million in 17 days, good enough for 35th on the all-time list.-Reuters