Box Office: 'Resident Evil: Afterlife' wins big!

With no real competition threatening to take over the top spot, new release "Resident Evil: Afterlife" easily jumped to No. 1 at the North American box office this weekend with $27.7 million in ticket sales.

It's a solid estimate for sure for the 3D sequel, which is already the fourth installment in the popular series. "Afterlife" scored an average of $8,646 per theater at 3,203 locations. The film stars Milla Jovovich.

Finishing second this weekend was "Takers," which grabbed another $6.1 million for a solid domestic total gross of $48.1 million. The film starring Idris Elba and Matt Dillon is budgeted at $32 million.

Following at No. 3 with $5.8 million was Anton Corbijn's "The American," which stars George Clooney. The drama about an assassin embarking on his final job reached a total haul of $26.7 million.

Meanwhile, Robert Rodriguez's "Machete" picked up $4.2 million at No. 4, bringing its total to $20.8 million. Following in fifth place was "Going the Distance," which lifted its cume to $14 million only.

At No. 6, "The Other Guys" brought its total gross to $112.6 million after weekend earnings of $3.6 million. "The Last Exorcism" slipped to seventh place with $3.4 million for a cume of $38.1 million.

At the bottom of the top 10, "The Expendables" bagged $3.2 million at No. 8 ($98.4 million total), while "Inception" pulled $3 million in ninth place (total haul stands at $282.4 million).

Finally, "Eat Pray Love" slipped to No. 10 with weekend earnings of $2.9 million and a cumulative gross of $74.6 million. Next weeks' competition includes "Easy A," "Alpha and Omega," "The Town" and "Devil."

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