LOS ANGELES, April 23 (Xinhua) -- TriStar Pictures' "Silent Hill" topped the North American box office over the weekend, raking in an estimate of 20.2 million dollars for the horror thriller about a mother searching for her daughter in a deserted, haunted town.

    Last week's winner, "Scary Movie 4," came in a close second at the box office with 17 million dollars, according to the Los Angeles-based box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc., which released weekend estimates Sunday.

    New release "The Sentinel" ranked third with 14.7 million dollars for the secret service thriller starring Michael Douglas, Kiefer Sutherland and Eva Longoria.

    "Ice Age: The Meltdown" continued its solid box office run with an estimate of 12.8 million dollars over the weekend, bringing its total gross to 167.9 million dollars. The estimates are for the Friday-to-Sunday period and final figures will be released Monday.

    "The Wild," a Disney animated comedy about a New York zoo lion accidentally shipped to Africa, ranked fifth with 8.1 million dollars.

    This week's results mark the fifth week in a row that the box office gross in the United States and Canada has increased over the previous year.

    The weekend's top 12 grossing films brought in some 100.4 million dollars, compared with 109.9 million last weekend and 82.3 million during the same period in 2005. Enditem