"Wedding Crashers" advance to top box office

After two weeks in the number two slot, the "Wedding Crashers" broke through to first place at the weekend box office, according to preliminary figures out Sunday.

The comedy pairing of Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn is expected to earn 20.4 million dollars from Friday to Sunday, boosting its three-week take in the United States and Canada to 116 million dollars.

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," which held the top spot for last two weeks, dropped to second place, with an estimated gross of 16.3 million dollars.

"Sky High" debuted in third place with 14.5 million dollars, followed by the openings of "Stealth" (13.5 million dollars) and "Must Love Dogs" (13 million dollars).

Meanwhile, overall box office sales in North America hit their lowest level in more than two months, as ticket sales for the top 12 films over the weekend are lower for the second consecutive week than that in the same period last year.

The total revenue for the top 12 films are estimated to be around 112 million dollars, according to the Los Angeles-based tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.

Final weekend box office figures are due on Monday.

Source: Xinhua