'Amazing Spider-Man' scales box office

"The Amazing Spider-Man" scaled to the top of the North American box office this weekend, beating cheeky teddy bear comedy "Ted," industry estimates showed Sunday.

The 3-D flick -- the latest take on the superhero-turned-cultural-icon -- netted $65 million during its first Friday through Sunday run on the big screen, according to movie tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"Ted," a comedy directed by "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane in which Mark Wahlberg's childhood toy comes to life, came in second place with $32.6 million in tickets sold.

"Brave," Pixar's 3-D fairytale about a Scottish princess trying to rescue her mother from an evil witch, prevailed in third place with $20.2 million.

Oliver Stone's drama "Savages" -- based on a Don Winslow novel and featuring a fierce Salma Hayek as the head of a Mexican drug cartel -- debuted in fourth place with $16.2 million.

"Magic Mike," starring Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey as male strippers, dropped to fifth place with $15.6 million.

Tyler Perry's "Madea's Witness Protection" took the sixth slot with $10.2 million in sales, while animated hit sequel "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" dipped to seventh place at $7.7 million.

"Katy Perry: Part of Me" -- which gives a glimpse into the pop star's life both on stage and off -- started off in eighth place with $7.2 million.

Ninth went to "Moonrise Kingdom," the latest from director Wes Anderson starring Bill Murray, Bruce Willis and Edward Norton. The indie coming-of-age film took in $4.6 million.

Rounding out the top ten was Woody Allen's comedy "To Rome With Love" which earned $3.5 million. Final figures were due out Monday.

AFP