Disney's "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" remained atop the box office in North America for the third straight weekend with an estimated take of 20.2 million dollars over the three-day period, according to preliminary box office figures released Sunday. (File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    LOS ANGELES, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Disney's "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" remained atop the box office in North America for the third straight weekend with an estimated take of 20.2 million dollars over the three-day period, according to preliminary box office figures released Sunday.

    The first weekend of 2008 kept the up momentum at the box office that Hollywood has seen in the past few weeks. Although there was only one new wide release in theaters this weekend, the top 12 movies took in 124 million dollars collectively, up more than 18 percent over the same period a year ago.

    The "National Treasure" sequel starring Nicolas Cage has sold nearly 171 million dollars since its release before the Christmas holiday, according to the Los Angeles-based box office tracking firm Media By Numbers.

    Will Smith's sci-fi thriller "I Am Legend" held the No. 2 spot for the weekend with 16.4 million dollars in ticket sales. The Warner Bros. film has taken in a whopping 229 million dollars since opening four weeks ago.

    Independent film "Juno" from Fox Searchlight edged up from last weekend's fifth place to the No. 3 with 16.2 million dollars, while the computer-animated "Alvin and the Chipmunks" from 20th Century Fox fell from second to No. 4 with 16 million dollars.

    Warner Bros.' "One Missed Call," the Hollywood remake of a 2004Japanese horror film, debuted in No. 5 with 14 million dollars this weekend. The film, which features several college students who receive cell phone calls that predict their death, is targeted mainly at younger audiences.