WASHINGTON - It might have scored top of the North American box office, but Justice League didn't have the super opening weekend predicted, falling short of expectations with takings of $96 million, according to industry estimates released Monday. With an all-star cast including Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Ben Affleck as Batman and Henry Cavill as Superman, Justice League - based on the DC Comics superheroes team - sees a mash-up of classic characters fend off the threat of supervillain Steppenwolf (Ciaran Hinds). The big-budget Warner Bros. production - which fared better internationally, taking $185 million - was forecast to earn $110 million in North American cinemas, according to Variety. In at second - earning $27.1 million - was Lionsgate's newly-released Wonder, according to the box office tracker. Starring Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay, Wonder follows the journey of August Pullman, a young boy with facial deformities, as he enters the fifth grade at a mainstream school for the first time. After thundering to the top spot last week, Thor: Ragnarok slipped into third place in its third weekend in cinemas, taking $21.8 million. Paramount's Daddy's Home 2 halved its earnings from last weekend, dropping to fourth place with $14.8 million. The festive comedy stars Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as Brad and Dusty, who join forces to give their kids the perfect holiday - an effort challenged when their own fathers show up. In at fifth was Fox's Murder on the Orient Express, earning $13.8 million. The fourth television or cinema adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic detective novel, the murder mystery was directed by Kenneth Branagh, who also stars as part of an A-list cast including Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz and Judi Dench. - AFP