'Green Hornet' leaps to US box office top spot

Moviegoers gladly hooked up with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher at the weekend, as "No Strings Attached" captured the North American box office in its debut, according to preliminary estimates Sunday.It may turn into something more, but the Ivan Reitman film about casual sex between friends took in $20.3 million, which for now was good enough to knock "The Green Hornet" out of the top spot, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

Spy thriller "The American" rocketed to the top of the North American box office to beat out crime action flick "Takers," preliminary figures showed Sunday.The debut weekend for George Clooney's atmospheric thriller, hailed by critics as a visually captivating but restrained departure for the Hollywood star, took in 12.3 million dollars in US and Canadian theaters this weekend, according to figures from industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Crime action flick "Takers" narrowly beat out "The Last Exorcism" to take the North American box office top spot this weekend, earning just 145,000 dollars more, final figures showed Monday.The new release, starring Hayden Christensen, singers Chris Brown and T.I., and Idris Elba, earned 20.5 million dollars in US and Canadian theaters this weekend, according to figures from industry tracker Exhibitor Relations.That was enough to catapult the flick, which follows the exploits of a group of professional thieves on one last job, over runner-up "The Last Exorcism."

"The Town," Ben Affleck's fast-paced bank heist flick set in his hometown of Boston debuted as the top movie at North American theaters this weekend, industry estimates showed on Sunday.Supplanting "Resident Evil: Afterlife" in the top spot, "The Town," the second film to be directed by the actor, earned 23.8 million dollars in ticket sales, according to projections from box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"The Social Network," the hit film about the Internet wunderkind who founded Facebook, topped the weekend box office, earning 15.5 million dollars, according to industry estimates for North America on Sunday.The movie, starring newcomer Jesse Eisenberg and pop star Justin Timberlake, scored big in its debut last weekend when it was the top earner with 22.4 million dollars in ticket sales, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

With more than 40 shopping days left until Christmas, North American theater audiences already had enough holiday cheer to put "Disney's A Christmas Carol" at the top of the box office this week.Early estimates on Sunday by box office tracker Exhibitor Relations showed the adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic tale, featuring Jim Carey as Ebenezer Scrooge, earned 31 million dollars in first week in theaters.Falling to second place was "This Is It," a compilation of footage of the late Michael Jackson as he prepared for a final world tour.

"Despicable Me," an animated 3-D film in which a villain tries to pull off the world's greatest crime, was the top earner at North American theaters this weekend, reaping 60.1 million dollars, industry estimates showed Sunday.Last week's top earner, vampire romance "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" came in second, with an estimated 33.4 million dollars, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

After being knocked to second place last week, critically-acclaimed animation "How to Train Your Dragon" roared back to the top of the North American box office, preliminary figures showed Sunday.The Dreamworks fantasy about a young Viking who tames a dragon lost the poll position last week to "Kick-Ass," but takings of 15 million dollars this weekend returned it to the top spot, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.