LOS ANGELES--The tale of a married couple's life with a troublesome canine, "Marley & Me," took the biggest bite out of the North American box office for a second week, final figures showed Monday.

Starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson, "Marley" was the top draw for audiences in United States and Canada, bringing in $24.3 million in its second weekend, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

Adam Sandler's comedy "Bedtime Stories" also started the New Year strongly, adding another 20.5 million for an overall take of 85.5 million after only two weeks on release.

Ranking third was "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," David Fincher's period love story starring Aniston's ex-husband Brad Pitt, which took in 18.7 million with its story of a man who is born old and gets younger with time.

Tom Cruise's Nazi epic "Valkyrie," about a plot by German officers to assassinate Adolf Hitler, came in fourth with $14 million.

The Jim Carrey comedy "Yes Man," about a man who changes his life by agreeing to everything, raked in $13.9 million for fifth place in its third weekend in theaters.

The drama "Seven Pounds," starring Will Smith as a man haunted by a secret, pulled in $10 million, while the animated flick "The Tale of Despereaux," about a big-eared mouse with great curiosity and ambitions, followed in seventh place with $6.9 million.

Science fiction thriller "The Day the Earth Stood Still," was in eighth place after its number-one debut in December, earning $5.0 million. The Fox remake of a 1951 cult classic stars Keanu Reeves as an alien that comes to Earth.

"Doubt," starring Meryl Streep as a nun who confronts molestation in the Catholic Church, climbed to ninth place in its fourth week, bringing in $5 million.

Rounding out the top 10 with $4.7 million was "Slumdog Millionaire," the critically acclaimed flick from UK director Danny Boyle that tells the story of a young man from Mumbai who seeks out his childhood sweetheart by entering a TV gameshow.