"Snakes on a Plane" slithered to the top of the box office in North America this weekend, bringing in about 15.3 million dollars after months of Internet buzz and aggressive marketing for the movie about killer snakes on a plane.

"Snakes" edged out "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, " which has been at the top of the box office for the last two weeks. The Will Ferrell NASCAR comedy raked in about 14.1 million dollars over the weekend, bringing its total gross to about 114.7 million dollars, according to estimates released by box office tracker Exhibitor Relations on Sunday.

"Snakes on a Plane" had so much pre-opening buzz that studio chiefs and observers believed it could dramatically change the way movies are marketed.

Although "Snakes" was not screened for critics, the movie has received much media attention in recent weeks. The debut was much more modest than many box office trackers predicted.

Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center" remained solid in third place this weekend, with about 10.8 million dollars for the heroic tale of rescue workers on September 11, 2001.

College comedy "Accepted" debuted in fourth place with about 10. 1 million dollars, while Disney's teen dance movie "Step Up" slipped to fifth this weekend, with about 9.9 million dollars.

Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" ranked eighth this weekend with about 5 million dollars. The movie's total gross is now about 401 million dollars in North America, making "Pirates" only the seventh movie in box office history to cross the 400 million-dollar mark for the United States and Canada markets.

The top 12 grossing films this weekend brought in about 91.3 million dollars, down 7.6 percent compared to the 98.8 million dollars grossed over the same weekend last year. This weekend's gross was down nearly 17 percent from last weekend.

Source: Xinhua