'Kick-Ass' fights way to box office top spot

(Lionsgate Films)

Foul-mouthed superhero comedy "Kick-Ass," starring Nicolas Cage and a host of pint-sized crime fighters, beat down competitors to top the North American box office, final figures showed Monday.

For the second weekend in a row, the number one and two box office spots reported in initial Sunday figures switched places by the time final earnings were released Monday.

That gave "Kick-Ass," which opened this weekend with 19.8 million dollars in ticket sales, an edge over animation adventure "How to Train Your Dragon," box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

Critically-acclaimed "Dragon" was relegated to second place with an only slightly smaller take of 19.6 million dollars, bringing the total for the DreamWorks' fantasy about a young Viking who tames a dragon to 158 million dollars in its four-week run.

Slapstick "Date Night," starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell as a jaded married couple who land in a series of explosive situations after a rare romantic evening without their children, fell to the third spot with 16.7 million dollars.

Another comic newcomer, "Death at a Funeral," featuring a wealth of African American Hollywood talent, including stand-up stars Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence and Tracy Morgan, held the fourth position after bringing in 16.2 million dollars in its first weekend.

Greek mythology film "Clash of the Titans" - a critically-panned blockbuster based on the exploits of Perseus and his battles with the serpent-haired Medusa and a fearsome sea monster - crashed from last weekend's number one to the fifth spot with 15.4 million dollars in ticket sales.

"The Last Song," a romantic teen-targeted Miley Cyrus flick, fell to sixth place in its third week in theaters with 5.9 million dollars, while melodrama "Why Did I Get Married Too?" by writer, director, and actor Tyler Perry came in seventh with 4.1 million dollars in receipts.

Eighth place went to the live-action version of Lewis Carroll's classic "Alice in Wonderland" starring Johnny Depp, which took 3.6 million dollars to raise its total earnings to 324 million dollars, while time-bending R-rated comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine," fell to ninth, earning 3.5 million dollars.

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"The Bounty Hunter," a lackluster comedy starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler, came in tenth with a 3.2-million-dollar take.