Despite the turbulence, Mel Gibson’s “Flight Risk” managed to open No. 1 at the box office with a modest $12 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"Flight Risk"—director Mel Gibson’s new action thriller starring Mark Wahlberg—is targeting a No. 1 debut at the weekend box office.

Mark Wahlberg stars in the action-thriller, 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.