Box Office: 'Dragon' defeats new entries!

DreamWorks Animation's 3D-anmiated adventure "How to Train Your Dragon" swallowed its competition at the North American box office this weekend and reclaimed the No. 1 spot with a solid three-day gross of $20 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The film is now in its fourth week of release.

"Dragon" beat new entries "Kick-Ass" and "Death at a Funeral," which didn't really live up to box office expectations. Matthew Vaughn's "Kick-Ass" came in second with $19.7 million via an average of $6,444 per theater at 3,065 locations. Analysts predicted the comic book adaptation would win the weekend.

Meanwhile, Neil LaBute's remake "Death at a Funeral" debuted at No. 4 with $17 million. Starring Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence, the comedy follows a family's misadventures during a funeral ceremony. "Funeral," which scored an average of $6,913 per theater, is now playing at 2,459 locations.

"How to Train Your Dragon," by the way, lifted its domestic total to $158.6 million. The third spot on the circuit went to Shawn Levy's comedy "Date Night," which bagged another $17.3 million and brought its total gross to $49.2 million. Tina Fey and Steve Carell star.

Taking a big dive this weekend was Warner's "Clash of the Titans" remake, which landed in fifth place with a gross of $15.7 million. The Louis Leterrier-directed adventure reached a total haul of $132.9 million. Following at No. 6 with $5.8 million was "The Last Song," which reached a cume of $50 million.

Also, Tyler Perry's "Why Did I Get Married Too?" grabbed $4.1 million this weekend, enough for seventh place. The sequel to the hit comedy reached a cumulative gross of $54.8 million. At No. 8, "Hot Tub Time Machine" collected $3.5 million for a total gross of $42.5 million.

Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" finished ninth this weekend, taking home $3.5 million for a cume of $324 million. Rounding out the top 10 was "The Bounty Hunter," which brought in $3.2 million and pushed its total gross to $60.3 million after five weeks in release.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)