LOS ANGELES (AFP) — A Walt Disney movie about a pampered chihuahua forced to fend for herself on Mexico's mean streets took a bite out of the North American box-office this weekend, final figures showed Monday.
"Beverly Hills Chihuahua," a live-action animated film featuring the voices of Drew Barrymore and Andy Garcia, took top spot on its debut weekend with 29.3 million dollars, according to industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.
In second place with 17.7 million dollars was "Eagle Eye," a futuristic thriller starring Shia LaBeouf about a Big Brother-style villain who infiltrates phones, televisions and computers.
New romantic comedy "Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist" featuring "Juno" and "Superbad" star Michael Cera, opened in third place with 11.3 million dollars.
In fourth place, with 7.4 million dollars in sales, was romantic drama "Nights in Rodanthe" starring Diane Lane and Richard Gere, set against the seaside backdrop of North Carolina's Outer Banks.
The movie, the third time Lane and Gere have co-starred together, tells the story of a doctor who falls for an unhappily married woman.
Western drama "Appaloosa," opening wide on more than 1,000 screens for the first time, took fifth spot with takings of 5.0 million dollars.
The film, starring Jeremy Irons, Ed Harris, Viggo Mortensen and Renee Zellweger, features two gunslingers who take on a bullying rancher but see their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.
Samuel L. Jackson's latest movie, a dark thriller called "Lakeview Terrace," slipped from third to sixth, taking in 4.6 million.
"Burn After Reading," a spy spoof by Oscar-winning film-making siblings Joel and Ethan Coen, took 4.1 million dollars in receipts.
"Fireproof," depicting the private travails of a heroic fire department captain, fell to eighth from fourth, taking in four million dollars.
In ninth place was "An American Carol," a crude satire of Leftist documentary maker Michael Moore and his "unpatriotic" views of the United States. It took 3.8 million dollars.
In 10th was "Religulous," a documentary featuring comic Bill Maher that takes a wry look at religion, which took 3.4 million dollars.
Copyright © 2009 AFP. All rights reserved. More »
