Christian Bale and Russell Crowe in a scene from '3:10 to Yuma' in an image courtesy of Lionsgate Films. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

    BEIJING, Sept. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The Western "3:10 to Yuma" was the big shot at the weekend box office in North America with Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, according to studio estimates issued Sunday.

    The critically acclaimed Western from Lionsgate outgunned the fright fest "Halloween" and took in 14.1 million U.S. dollars from Friday through Sunday, according to studio estimates.

    The Western benefited from lower expectations, owing to its low-key, post-Labor Day release, and its relatively modest budget (about 50 million U.S. dollars).

    "Yuma," a remake of a 1957 Western, told a story about a struggling rancher's bid to bring an outlaw to justice. The movie is Crowe's first number one opener since Gladiator. It costars Christian Bale as bad-guy Crowe's good-guy counterpart.

    The performance of "3:10 to Yuma" thrilled Lionsgate executives, who chose this weekend to position the film for Oscar consideration.

    Westerns, once a Hollywood staple, are a tough sell these days. The last critically acclaimed film of note in the genre was 1992's "Unforgiven," starring Clint Eastwood.

    "The genre films that have gone on to win best picture — 'Gladiator,' 'Braveheart,' 'Unforgiven' — all of them were commercial successes before they were award winners," Tom Ortenberg, president of Lionsgate theatrical films, said, "Voters want to see a level of commercial success before they grant you awards success."

    This weekend's top 12 films took in 22.5 percent more than last year's post Labor Day crop, making the ninth straight weekend the box office exceeding 2006 results.

    (Agencies)