'Lakeview Terrace' earns top box office take

September 22, 2008 09:43:47 AM

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Dark thriller "Lakeview Terrace," starring Samuel L. Jackson as a cop who torments his neighbors, topped the North American box office over the weekend, preliminary numbers showed Sunday.

The film earned 15.6 million dollars in its opening weekend.

The new movie pushed "Burn After Reading," the latest Cohen brothers comedy with a star-studded cast including Brad Pitt and George Clooney, into second place with 11.3 million dollars in receipts.

The top films were followed by two openers, "My Best Friend's Girl," a romantic comedy starring Dane Cook and Kate Hudson, which took in 8.3 million dollars for third place and animated "Igor," voiced by John Cusack, which took in eight million.

Police drama "Righteous Kill" starring Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino came in fifth place with 7.7 million dollars in ticket sales.

Melodrama "The Family that Preys" by playwright-turned-filmmaker Tyler Perry earned 7.5 million for sixth place and the remake of the classic film "The Women," starring Hollywood sweetheart Meg Ryan, was in seventh place with 5.3 million dollars.

Another entry, life-after-death comedy "Ghost Town," took the eighth spot with 5.1 million dollars.

Blockbuster Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" added 2.95 million to its staggering 522-million-dollar take over 10 weeks in theaters.

Rounding out the top 12 were "The House Bunny," about an ousted Playboy bunny who becomes a college sorority house mother with 2.6 million, Ben Stiller spoof "Tropic Thunder" with 2.5 million and Abba musical "Mamma Mia" with 1.0 million.