Director of the movie Kenny Ortega (C) holds Manly 'Little Pickles' Ortega from the movie, as he poses with cast members Ashley Tisdale (L) and Zac Efron at the premiere of the movie "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" at Galen Center in Los Angeles October 16.- Xinhua/Reuters

Disney's song-and-dance film "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," which opened last week as the biggest-grossing musical movie ever, remained atop the box office in North America this weekend, according to preliminary figures released yesterday.

The first big-screen version and third installment of the original made-for-television franchise by Disney Channel is expected to take in US$15 million over the three-day period, with US$61.8 million over two weeks in US and Canadian theaters.

Meanwhile, HSM3 took in about US$26 million overseas this weekend, being No. 1 in each of its 26 international markets and with a foreign total of US$85 million since its release. It has grossed nearly US$150 million globally in just 10 years.

The Weinstein Company's comedy "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" debuted in No. 2 with US$10.7 million. The R-rated film is about two cash-strapped roommates who try to make adult films to pay off their bills.

Last week's runner-up "Saw V" slipped to No. 3 with US$10.1 million over the weekend, while "Changeling" from Oscar-winning director Clint Eastwood and actress Angelina Jolie, was in No. 4 with US$9.4 million as it expanded to wide release.

In "Changeling," which was based a legal case in 1920s Los Angeles, Jolie played a single mother who fights against the city's bureaucratic police department after her son disappears.

New release "The Haunting of Molly Hartley," a horror film from Freestyle Releasing, was in No. 5 with US$6 million over the Halloween weekend, which saw Hollywood's overall sales slumping as the holiday fell on Friday coincidentally this year.

The top-selling 12 movies took in about US$75.17 million collectively this weekend, down about 38 percent from the same period last year. It was the first "down" weekend for Hollywood after five "up" weekends.