Crowd-pleasing Nasa drama Hidden Figures has topped the US box office for the second straight week, while a pair of high-priced prestige releases sputtered.

Sunday estimates show that Hidden Figures, a tale about African-American mathematicians in the 1960s space race, sold $20.5 million (£16.8 million) in tickets in North American cinemas over the Martin Luther King Jr holiday weekend.

Fox anticipates it will make $25.3 million (£20.7 million) when Monday is included.

In a crowded field that included the Star Wars hit Rogue One and the Oscar favourite La La Land, several big name directors flopped.

Ben Affleck’s period crime thriller Live By Night earned a mere $5.4 million (£4.4 million).

Ben Affleck (Ian West/PA)
Ben Affleck (Ian West/PA)

And Martin Scorsese’s Christian epic Silence took in just $1.9 million (£1.5 million).