Mark Wahlberg stars in the genre pic, which marks Gibson's first directorial effort in nearly a decade. Elsewhere, Steven Soderbergh's artsy haunted house thriller 'Presence' opened in 1,750 cinemas.

Elsewhere, "Mufasa" holds strong at second, "Presence" makes its box office debut, and "The Brutalist" expands to maintain its footing in the top 10.

Like its fellow January release “Den of Thieves: Pantera,” “Flight Risk” follows the Lionsgate blueprint of being a low budget thrill ride financed through slate deals, co-production partnerships and foreign sales that will allow it to clear a low break-even point.