Starring action star Mark Wahlberg, "Max Payne" easily outdistanced competitions in theaters from a popular dog, bees and the current US president, according to Los Angeles-based box office tracking firm Media By Numbers yesterday.

The 20th Century Fox release, based on a popular video game with the same name, chronicles a NYPD detective's revenge against a pharmaceutical company involved in a secret military project after his wife is murdered.

Disney's animal comedy "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" slipped to No.2 after two weeks at the box office top. The movie is on track to US$11.2 million in ticket sales this weekend, and US$69 million over three weeks in release.

Two movies aimed at adult audience opened in No. 3 and No. 4, as "The Secret Life of Bees" based on the bestselling book by Sue Monk took in US$11.1 million, and Olive Stone's portrait of President George Bush's White House life, "W," debuted with US$10.6 million.

Dreamworks' thriller "Eagle Eye" was in No. 5 with a take of US$7.3 million this weekend. The film starring Shia LaBeouf has grossed US$81.3 million since it was released four weeks ago.

The top-selling 12 movies took in US$86.4 million collectively this weekend, a 10-percent increase from the same weekend last year, as Hollywood's overall revenues were up for the fourth consecutive weekend.