'District 9' takes top spot at US box office

Rex Features

District 9 has debuted at the top of the US box office with $37 million over the weekend.

The Peter Jackson-produced sci-fi thriller has knocked G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra to the number two position with $22.5 million.

Among the debuts this week is The Time Traveler's Wife at number three with $19.2 million. The comedy The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard appears at number six with $5.3 million, and the animated Miyazaki film Ponyo, featuring an ensemble voice-over cast starring Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon and Tina Fey, lands at number nine with $3.5 million.

Capping off the top ten is Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel's romance in (500) Days of Summer, which remains steady at number ten for a consecutive week with $3 million.

The US box office top ten in full:

1. (-) District 9 - $37,000,000
2. (1) G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra - $22,500,000
3. (-) The Time Traveler's Wife - $19,205,000
4. (2) Julie & Julia - $12,400,000
5. (3) G-Force - $6,908,000
6. (-) The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard - $5,350,000
7. (4) Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince - $5,155,000
8. (6) The Ugly Truth - $4,500,000
9. (-) Ponyo - $3,506,000
10.(10) (500) Days of Summer - $3,025,000