This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows, from left, Bill Hader, Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, James Ransone, Isaiah Mustafa and Jay Ryan in New Line Cinema’s horror thriller "It: Chapter 2." (Photo: AP)

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Warner Bros. and New Line's "It: Chapter Two" led movie ticket sales in North America with a massive debut of 91 million US dollars, kicking off the Hollywood fall box office season with a promising start.

It is the second-best opening ever for a September film and for a horror film. The supernatural horror film is the sequel to the 2017's "It," based on the novel of the same name by American best-selling writer Stephen King.

Directed by Andy Muschietti, it stars Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, and Andy Bean, among others.

The evil clown Pennywise returns 27 years after the events depicted in the first installment to torment the grown-up members of the Losers' Club, who have long since drifted apart from one another.

Opening in 75 international markets, "It: Chapter Two" grossed 185 million dollars in its worldwide opening weekend through Sunday, according to studio figures collected by measurement firm Comscore.

The film received a "B+" rating from moviegoers on CinemaScore and a 64-percent certified fresh rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes to date.

After two weekends at the top of the North American box office, Lionsgate and Millennium's action film "Angel Has Fallen" moved to the second place with 6 million dollars in its third weekend for a North American total of 53.46 million dollars.

"Angel Has Fallen" is the third chapter in the Fallen film series, following 2013's "Olympus Has Fallen" and 2016's "London Has Fallen." Directed by Ric Roman Waugh, starring Gerard Butler and Morgan Freeman in the lead roles, the film follows a US Secret Service Agent who is wrongfully accused for the attempted assassination of the President and must evade his own agency and the FBI to uncover the truth.

Universal's comedy film "Good Boys" came in third with 5.39 million dollars in its fourth weekend, pushing its North American total to 66.85 million dollars through Sunday. Directed by Gene Stupnitsky and starring Jacob Tremblay, Brady Noon and Keith L. Williams, the film tells the story of three sixth grade boys who ditch school and embark on an epic journey.

Disney's "The Lion King" brought in 4.19 million dollars in its eighth weekend for a North American total of 529.1 million dollars. Directed by Jon Favreau, it is a photo-realistic remake of Disney's 1994 animated film of the same name.

Sony's Christian drama film "Overcomer" finished fifth with 3.75 million dollars in its third weekend for a North American total of 24.71 million dollars. Directed by and starring Alex Kendrick, the film tells the story of a high-school basketball coach volunteers to coach a troubled teen in long-distance running.