LOS ANGELES, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- A blood-spitting
vampire film conquered North American theaters this weekend, beating out more
serious dramas with A-list Hollywood stars to debut in the first place at the
box office.
Sony's "30 Days of Night," a horror tale set in an
Alaska town during its period of prolonged winter darkness, took in an estimated
16 million U.S. dollars, according preliminary box office figures released
Sunday.
Last week's leader, romantic comedy "Tyler Perry's
Why Did I Get Married" dropped to second place in its second weekend in
theaters, taking in about 12.1 million dollars.
Disney's family comedy "The Game Plan" came in third
with 8.1 million dollar, followed by George Clooney's legal thriller "Michael
Clayton" with 7.1 million dollars.
Ben Affleck's directorial debut about a case of child
kidnapping, "Gone Baby Gone," was in fifth place at the box office with 6
million dollars in its opening weekend.
Meanwhile, new releases starring Oscar-winning
actresses Reese Witherspoon and Halle Berry debuted this weekend to
disappointing numbers, with Witherspoon's anti-terror drama "Rendition" in the
ninth place at box office and Berry's family tragedy "Things We Lost in the
Fire" in 15th.
The overall Hollywood box office was down for the
fifth-straight weekend, as the top-selling 12 films took in 79.7 million dollars
collectively, about 10 percent lower than that in the same weekend last
year.
