"10,000 B.C." rules weekend box office in N America <img src=http://imgs.xinhuanet.com/icon/icon/typk.jpg border=0>_English

Cast member Steven Strait poses at the premiere of "10,000 B.C." at the Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California March 5, 2008. The movie opens in the U.S. on March 7.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

Cast member Steven Strait poses at the premiere of "10,000 B.C." at the Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California March 5, 2008. The movie opens in the U.S. on March 7.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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LOS ANGELES, March 9 (Xinhua) -- Prehistoric adventure-action "10,000 B.C." became the overwhelming box office champion this weekend in North America, with a take of about 35.7 million dollars over the three-day period, according to preliminary figures released Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Warner Bros. release, which tells a prehistoric tale of a human tribe struggling to survive amid huge animals like mammoths and sabretooh tigers, took in about 25.3 million dollars in overseas markets this week as it opened No. 1 at 19 of 20 foreign territories.

At the opposite end of the intended audience spectrum, Disney comedy "College Road Trip" debuted this weekend in the number two spot with 14 million dollars, while a third premiere, "The Bank Job," opened in the number five slot with 5.7 million dollars.

Last week's box office leader, Will Farrell's basketball farce "Semi-Pro" dropped to No. 4 with 5.8 million dollars, and at third place was Sony Pictures' anti-terrorism thriller "Vantage Point" with 7.5 million dollars.

The top-selling 12 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters took in some 91.8 million dollars collectively over the weekend, down 34 percent from the same period last year.

It represented the fourth straight down weekend for Hollywood after the movie industry had enjoyed a box-office surge in the last couple of months, according to Los Angeles-based box office tracking firm Media By Numbers.

Steven Strait in a scene from "10,000 B.C.," which became the overwhelming box office champion this weekend in North America. (Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Reuters/Handout)

Steven Strait in a scene from "10,000 B.C.," which became the overwhelming box office champion this weekend in North America. (Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Reuters/Handout)
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Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova attends the premiere of "10,000 B.C." at the Grauman's Chinese theatre in Hollywood, California March 5, 2008. The movie opens in the U.S. on March 7.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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