"Lakeview Terrace" tops modest weekend box office in N. America

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Police thriller "Lakeview Terrace" captured the number one spot at the North American box office in a modest weekend, which saw new releases grab three of the top four positions, figures showed Sunday.

The Sony/Screen Gem film starring Samuel Jackson easily debuted to No. 1 with 15.6 million dollars this weekend, while Cohen brothers comedy "Burn After Reading" slipped to No. 2 with a steady 11.3 million dollars, according to Los Angeles-based box office tracking firm Media By Numbers.

"Lakeview Terrace" tells a story about a Los Angeles policeman who turns life of his new neighbors in a suburb neighborhood into a mess. It is the second Samuel Jackson film that ruled the weekend box office this year after sci-fi action "Jumper" opened with 27 million dollars in February.

Meanwhile, a pair of new movies nearly tied for the next two spots, as Liongate's romantic comedy "My Best Friend's Girl" took in 8.3 million dollars over the three-day period, narrowly followed by MGM animated "Igor" with 8 million dollars.

The Robert De Niro-Al Pacino crime thriller "Righteous Kill" came in No. 5 in its second weekend with an estimated 7.7 million dollars. The film has earned 28.8 million dollars in its first 10 days of release.