Tyler Perry has managed to beat the star power of Hollywood heavyweight Tom Cruise at the box office.

The star’s Boo! A Madea Halloween opened in the top spot in America with an estimated $27.6 million (£22.5 million), edging Tom’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back into second place.

Actor Tom Cruise listens to a reporter's question during a press conference for his new movie "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" in Seoul, South Korea (Lee Jin-man/AP)
Tom Cruise (Lee Jin-man/AP)

It’s the third best opening for a Madea movie, behind Madea Goes To Jail and Madea’s Family Reunion, and a sign of the character’s longstanding appeal to audiences.

Meanwhile, Tom’s film took in $23 million (£18.8 million) for Paramount Pictures.

It’s a far cry from the actor’s successes with the Mission: Impossible movies, but it did do significantly better than the first Jack Reacher, which opened right before Christmas in 2012 to $15.2 million (£12.4 million).

Coming in third this weekend was the horror prequel Ouija: Origin Of Evil.