A blood-spitting vampire film conquered North American theaters this weekend, beating out more serious dramas with A-list Hollywood stars to debut in the first place at the box office.

Sony's 30 Days of Night, a horror tale set in an Alaska town during its period of prolonged winter darkness, took in an estimated US$16 million, according preliminary box office figures released Sunday.

Last week's leader, romantic comedy Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married dropped to second place in its second weekend in theaters, taking in about US$12.1 million.

Disney's family comedy The Game Plan came in third with US$8.1 million, followed by George Clooney's legal thriller Michael Clayton with US$7.1 million.

Ben Affleck's directorial debut about a case of child kidnapping, Gone Baby Gone, was in fifth place at the box office with US$6 million in its opening weekend. 

Meanwhile, new releases starring Oscar-winning actresses Reese Witherspoon and Halle Berry debuted this weekend to disappointing numbers, with Witherspoon's anti-terror drama Rendition in the ninth place at box office and Berry's family tragedy Things We Lost in the Fire in 15th.

The overall Hollywood box office was down for the fifth-straight weekend, as the top-selling 12 films took in US$79.7 million collectively, about 10 percent lower than that in the same weekend last year.
 
(Xinhua News Agency October 23, 2007)