LOS ANGELES, US - COMEDY 'Paul Blart: Mall Cop' kept its top position in the North American box office over the weekend, according to preliminary numbers released by Exhibitor Relations on Sunday.

The film, starring Kevin James as a mall security guard who fights off a criminal gang, earned US$21.5 million (S$32.4 million) to keep its number one position, the box office tracker said.

Vampire horror flick 'Underworld: Rise of the Lycans' opened in second place with $20.7 million.

In third place was Clint Eastwood as a foul-mouthed Korean War veteran in 'Gran Torino,' which raked in $15.99 million to bring its overall earnings to $97.6 million over seven weeks.

Eastwood's character befriends his Asian neighbours as they are terrorised by gangs.

Family-friendly 'Hotel for Dogs,' in which children run a fanciful facility for stray dogs, took in $12.4 million for fourth place.

Mumbai-set 'Slumdog Millionaire' saw a boost from its whopping 10 Oscar nominations to jump back up to fifth place from 10th by earning $10.6 million.

Blood-soaked 'My Bloody Valentine 3D' took in $10.1 million and debut 'Inkheart', in which fictional characters come to life from the pages of books, drew 7.7 million in ticket sales for sixth and seventh respectively.

Chick flick comedy 'Bride Wars' pulled in $7.0 million for eighth place.

Oscar heavyweight 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', which earned a near-record 13 nominations including best actor for Brad Pitt, earned another $6.0 million to bring its total to $111 million over five weeks.

Rounding out the top 10 was bio-film 'Notorious' about the life and 1997 murder of rap star Christopher Wallace, known as 'Notorious B.I.G.' or 'Biggie Smalls', with earnings of $5.7 million. -- AFP