LOS ANGELES ? "Angels and Demons" -- sequel to the hit 2006 thriller "The Da Vinci Code" -- topped weekend box office sales across North America, edging out last week's winner 'Star Trek,' according to industry projections on Sunday.

Directed by Ron Howard and with Tom Hanks reprising his starring turn, the thriller took in some $48 million, $5 million more than number two "Star Trek," at $43 million, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

Superhero spinoff "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," which claimed the best debut of the year two weekends earlier with $87 million, this weekend netted just $14.8 million for a distant third place finish.

In fourth place was romantic comedy "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner, earning $6.8 million in its third week.

Superstar singer Beyonce's taut thriller "Obsessed" slipped one spot to fifth with $4.6 million, while youthful fantasy "17 Again," starring US teen idol Zac Efron, also fell one place to sixth, with a $3.4-million take.

"Monsters vs Aliens," an animated tale of a rag-tag group of monsters who save the world from destruction came in seventh with three million dollars in receipts.

In the eighth spot was "The Soloist," an inspirational musical tale based on a true story and starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx, which scored $2.4 million in ticket sales in its fourth weekend.

Comic caper "Next Day Air," about a bungled cocaine delivery and the efforts to retrieve it, was ninth with $2.3 million in receipts, while Disney's "Earth" documentary claimed 10th place with $1.7 million.