'Takers' takes 'Last Exorcism,' winning box office top spot

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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 gruesome documentary-style horror movie led the pack in preliminary figures out early Sunday, but the final figures showed the new release earning 20.3 million in box office receipts, just enough to push it back to number two.

The movie, directed by Daniel Stamm and co-produced by Eli Roth, a director known for his bloody thrillers, follows a disillusioned minister supposedly filming his last exorcism for a documentary.

At number three was "The Expendables," Sylvester Stallone's film about a group of weathered mercenaries out to topple a South American dictator, which earned 9.5 million dollars in its third week in theaters.

Down one spot to number four was "Eat, Pray, Love," Ryan Murphy's adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert's novel about a divorcee's jaunt to Italy, Indonesia and India, starring Julia Roberts. It earned 6.8 million dollars in its third week of release.

Staying put at number five was "The Other Guys," the latest Will Ferrell slapstick comedy, about two mismatched police officers paired on a high-profile crime investigation. It earned 6.2 million dollars.

Down four places to number six was "Vampires Suck," a send-up of the "Twilight" series of heart throb-meets-horror films, which took 5.2 million dollars after debuting last week at the number two spot.

After spending last week at ninth place, blockbuster "Inception" jumped back up two places to number seven, showing the movie's staying power with audiences.

The mind-bending flick, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as an expert infiltrator of people's dreams, took 4.8 million dollars over the weekend to bring its seven week earnings to 270.5 million dollars.

"Nanny McPhee Returns," the sequel to a popular kid's film starring British actress Emma Thompson in the title role, stayed put at number eight, earning 4.7 million dollars, while Jennifer Aniston's latest romantic comedy "The Switch" slipped two spots to number nine with earnings of 4.6 million dollars.

Rounding out the top 10 was summer horror spoof "Piranha 3D," which slipped four places after its debut last week, taking in 4.3 million dollars.