“Riddick” is seeing light at the box office.

The sci-fi thriller starring Vin Diesel as an intergalactic criminal with built-in night vision debuted in first place with $18.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. “Riddick” is the third installment in the series, following the $11.6 million debut of 2000’s “Pitch Black” and the $24.3 million launch of 2004’s “The Chronicles of Riddick.”

“Riddick,” which finds the alien anti-hero stranded and pursued by bounty hunters on a hostile world, served as a passion project for Diesel and series writer-director David Twohy. After the studio originally passed on funding a third chapter, the pair acquired the rights to the character from Universal and independently secured their own film financing.

“Riddick” also fared well internationally, bringing in an additional $7.4 million in 22 markets such as the United Kingdom and Hong Kong.

“Lee Daniels’ The Butler” fell to second place with $8.9 million in its fourth weekend at the box office, bringing its total domestic haul to $91.9 million. The Spanish-language comedy “Instructions Not Included” earned third place in its expanded second weekend with $8.1 million, giving it a total of $20.1 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters.