Prehistoric adventure-action "10,000 B.C." became the overwhelming box office champion this weekend in North America, with a take of about US$35.7 million over the three-day period, according to preliminary figures released yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Warner Bros. release, which tells a prehistoric tale of a human tribe struggling to survive amid huge animals like mammoths and sabretooh tigers, took in about US$25.3 million in overseas markets this week as it opened No. 1 at 19 of 20 foreign territories.

At the opposite end of the intended audience spectrum, Disney comedy "College Road Trip" debuted this weekend in the number two spot with US$14 million, while a third premiere, "The Bank Job," opened in the number five slot with US$5.7 million.

Last week's box office leader, Will Farrell's basketball farce "Semi-Pro" dropped to No. 4 with US$5.8 million, and at third place was Sony Pictures' anti-terrorism thriller "Vantage Point" with US$7.5 million.

The top-selling 12 movies at US and Canadian theaters took in some US$91.8 million  collectively over the weekend, down 34 percent from the same period last year.

It represented the fourth straight down weekend for Hollywood after the movie industry had enjoyed a box-office surge in the last couple of months, according to Los Angeles-based box office tracking firm Media By Numbers.