LOS ANGELES, March 14 (Xinhuanet) -- The controversial religious movie "The Passion of the Christ" outgrossed the competition at the box office in the past weekend for the third straight week, according to preliminary estimate figures released Sunday.

    Mel Gibson's epic on the final hours of Jesus is expected to rake in another 31.6 million US dollars over the weekend, boosting its North American take in just three weeks in release to 264 million dollars, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.

    The new release "Secret Window," starring Oscar best actor nominee Johnny Depp, opened in second place, earning about 19 million dollars, and "Starsky & Hutch" went from second to third place, grossing about 16 million dollars.

    In fourth place was the desert horse-racing drama "Hidalgo," which earned 11.7 million dollars.

    Rounding up the Top Five was the new release "Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London," which took in 8 million dollars.

    Final box office figures are to be announced on Monday. Enditem