Sony Pictures Entertainment's "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" raced to the top of the North American box office this weekend for the second week in a row, raking in about 23 million dollars for the NASCAR comedy.

The Will Ferrell-starred film debuted at the top of the box office with 47 million dollars last week, according to Los Angeles-based box office tracker Exhibitor Relations, which released weekend estimates Sunday.

Disney's teen dance movie "Step Up" came second this weekend, beating expectations and Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," which many believed would open at the top of the box office this weekend.

According to the estimates, "Step Up" brought in about 21.1 million dollars and "World Trade Center," 19 million dollars, the best ever weekend opening for a Stone-directed film.

The film, starring Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena as two Port Authority policemen buried alive in the rubble of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, is Hollywood's first big-budget production about the terrorist attacks in New York.

The animated comedy "Barnyard: The Original Party Animals" captured fourth place with about 10.1 million dollars, while "Pulse," a Hong Kong horror remake produced by the Weinstein brothers, debuted in fifth place with about 8.5 million dollars.

The top 12 grossing films this weekend brought in 111.4 million dollars, up 6.3 percent compared to the same weekend last year, but down nearly 9 percent compared with that grossed last weekend.

Editor: Donald