Takers | featured news

George Clooney's "The American" pulled ahead of "Machete" as the No. 1 movie in America, according to Sunday box office estimates. The Focus Features film earned $12.9 million, while Sony Screen Gems' "Takers" -- which led the box office last weekend -- came in No. 2 with $11.4 million.

Moviegoers wanted to get scared just as much as they wanted to enjoy a good crime caper this weekend, but very few were interested in a return trip to Pandora. Based on studio estimates released Sunday morning, indie horror film "The Last Exorcism" and heist film "Takers" were in a virtual dead heat, with both selling about $21 million worth of tickets in the U.S. and Canada for the weekend.

Despite its crazy ending, "The Last Exorcism" took the Friday box office title with an estimated $9.4 million in earnings. The Hayden Christensen-Chris Brown vehicle "Takers" came in second with a $7.5 million opening day at the box office. "The Expendables," which has won the box office title the last two weekends, finished third with $2.7 million, putting it over $75 million total.