'X-Men: First Class' tops US box office

Matthew Vaughn's Marvel Comics prequel X-Men: First Class has topped the US box office in its opening weekend.

The film, which stars Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy as a young Magneto and Professor Xavier, took $56 million domestically, taking the top spot from last weekend's big release The Hangover Part II, which itself took $32.4 million.

The Jack Black-led animated sequel Kung Fu Panda 2 took $24.3 for its second weekend of release, while Gore Verbinski's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides earned $18 million.

Rounding out the top five films of the weekend is Paul Feig's comedy Bridesmaids with $4.2 million.

Next weekend sees the release of J.J. Abrams's latest sci-fi project Super 8 starring Elle Fanning, AJ Michalka and Kyle Changler.

This week's US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):

1. (-) X-Men: First Class - $56,000,000
2. (1) The Hangover Part II - $32,445,000
3. (2) Kung Fu Panda 2 - $24,300,000
4. (3) Pirates of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides - $18,010,000
5. (4) Bridesmaids - $12,128,000
6. (5) Thor - $4,200,000
7. (6) Fast Five - $3,240,000
8. (7) Midnight in Paris - $2,916,000
9. (8) Jumping the Broom - $865,000
10. (9) Something Borrowed - $835,000

Watch the trailer for X-Men: First Class below: