Alex Garland's thought-provoking film "Civil War" isn't just sparking heated debate—it also lured audiences into theaters over the weekend, easily outpacing expectations with an excellent $25.7 million take at the North American box office, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

That marks the best R-rated film opening this year and the best debut by A24, the lauded studio behind such films as "Everything Everywhere All At Once" and "The Iron Claw." In addition, "Civil War" will dethrone Warner Bros. 's "Godzilla vs. Kong," which they have been sitting at for the last two weekends.

Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, and Cailee Spaeny have signed up to lead the frontline journalists in "Civil War," who, in the very near future, will cover a crisis and make a race against time to return one of their own captured in conflicts from Washington. D.C. Garland, behind "Ex Machina" and "Annihilation," pens the script that offers a new spin in a heightened world as California and Texas unite to stand against a president who has disbanded the FBI and hand-picked his own third term.

Despite the massive box office sales of "Civil War," the film has opened up its discourse more than a traditional critical study, as it has been the trailers that initiated debate and certainly will long after the film has lost its long-awaited luster.