Los Angeles (AFP) – Universal’s new horror flick “Nope” opened atop the North American box office, hammering the latest edition of Marvel’s “Thor” franchise to earn an estimated $44 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday. The alien-invasion sci-fi mystery, which features a Black family struggling to make ends meet on their bleached California horse ranch, is the highly-anticipated latest effort by writer and director Jordan Peele, whose 2017 debut “Get Out” earned rave reviews. “This is an excellent opening for an original horror movie,” said analyst David A. Gross of Fr…