LOS ANGELES ? "Where The Wild Things Are," a live action rendering of the beloved children's book, topped the North American box office in its first weekend of release, final figures showed on Monday.
The screen adaptation of Maurice Sendak's 1963 picture book about a rebellious boy who sails away to an island populated by giant toothy monsters earned $32.7 million in its debut.
The stellar debut was vindication for director Spike Jonze, who had seen the acclaimed movie's release date repeatedly delayed amid concerns from studio backers Warner Bros.
"Law Abiding Citizen," a thriller about a man bent on avenging the deaths of his slain family, was a distant second place, earning $21 million.
In third place was low-budget supernatural thriller "Paranormal Activity," which climbed a spot from last week's fourth place and earned $19.6 million ? almost triple the previous weekend's take, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
The film, reportedly made for a paltry $11,000, has earned comparisons to 1999 hit "The Blair Witch Project" and focuses on supernatural goings-on in a suburban San Diego house.
Last week's number one movie, "Couples Retreat" starring comic favorites Vince Vaughn and Jason Bateman, scored $17.2 million dollars.
In fifth place was the horror flick "The Stepfather," the remake of a 1987 thriller, which earned $11.6 million.
"Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs," the animated tale of an island rained on by junk food, fell to sixth place, earning $8 million in receipts.
Tongue-in-cheek comedy "Zombieland" came in seventh place, earning $7.6 million.
Falling to the eighth spot was the 3-D format re-release of popular Pixar cartoons "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2," which took in a combined $three million. The films came ahead of the much-anticipated "Toy Story 3," due out next year.
Futuristic Bruce Willis action film "Surrogates" ? about people living their lives through sexy robot replicas of themselves ? took ninth place with $1.92 million.
In 10th place was "The Invention of Lying," which stars British comedian Ricky Gervais and Jennifer Garner as a couple living in an alternative reality where nobody ever lies. The film took in $1.9 million.
