Horror flick "The Messengers" was the big winner at the North American box office this Super Bowl weekend, raking in an estimated 14.5 million dollars to clinch the top spot, according to preliminary figures released Sunday.

The Sony movie, directed by Hong Kong twin filmmakers Danny and Oxide Pang, depicts a city family who moves to a haunted house in the country.

"Because I Said So," the mother-daughter movie starring Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore, debuted in second with an estimated 13 million dollars, said Los Angeles-based box office tracker Media By Numbers. Final figures for the Friday-to-Sunday period will be released Monday.

Last week's box office leader "Epic Movie," slipped to third with an estimated 8.2 million dollars for its second weekend on the big screen.

The Ben Stiller comedy "Night at the Museum" came in fourth with some 6.8 million dollars. The movie has proved a powerhouse at the box office, taking in about 225.4 million dollars since it opened seven weeks ago.

Black humor action drama "Smokin' Aces," starring Ben Affleck and Alicia Keys, came in fifth with 6.3 million dollars.

It seemed more fans were preoccupied to watch the live broadcast of Sunday's Super Bowl football match this year. The 12 top movies in the United States and Canada grossed an estimated 71.6 million dollars over the weekend, a nearly 12.5 percent drop from the same period a year ago.

Editor: Donald