LOS ANGELES: “The Fault in Our Stars,” an emotional drama about two young cancer patients who fall in love, overwhelmed the latest Tom Cruise movie to open in first place over the weekend for 21st Century Fox.

The movie, starring Shailene Woodley, collected $48.2 million in US and Canadian theaters, Rentrak Corp. said in an e-mailed statement on Sunday. Warner Bros’s “Edge of Tomorrow,” a sci-fi thriller starring Cruise, placed third with $29.1 million, behind last week’s No. 1 film, “Maleficent.”

“The Fault in Our Stars,” based on the 2012 best-selling novel by John Green, marks another example of a female-led movie that connected with audiences, following recent hits like “Frozen,” “Maleficent” and “The Hunger Games” films. Woodley starred in “Divergent,” which also featured co-star Ansel Elgort and opened in first place in March.

“Never underestimate the box office clout of young women,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak. “Hollywood is always chasing the male audience and they should realize the female audience will chase them when they deliver something that they can relate to and talk about amongst their friends.”

Of those who bought “The Fault in Our Stars” tickets, most have read Green’s book and seen “Divergent,” according to a survey by the online ticket site.

“’Fault’ already has an army of fans,” said Fandango’s chief correspondent, Dave Karger, in an e-mail. “Strong buzz for the film and its young stars are turning the big-screen adaptation into that rare summer hit that’s neither a sequel nor a superhero story.”

Woodley and Elgort play Hazel and Gus, two teenagers who fall in love and who share an unconventional view on life heightened by their individual battles with cancer. When they travel to Amsterdam to meet the reclusive author of a book Hazel is obsessed with, they find their idealism tested by the novelist’s world-weary cynicism.