Sony's "Ghost Rider" charged to the top of the box office in North America this weekend, becoming the top President's Day holiday opening ever and helping Hollywood snap out a six-week slump in ticket sales, studio figures said on Monday.

Based on the Marvel comic book character, "Ghost Rider" was produced for an estimated 120 million U.S. dollars, but the hefty gamble is likely to pay off big.

The film, starring Nicolas Cage as a stunt motorcyclist who gives up his soul and becomes a fiery vigilante for justice, fetched 45 million dollars over the Friday-to-Sunday period.

It would brought in about 51.5 million dollars if including Monday's ticket sales, according to the Los Angeles-base box office Exhibitor Relations Inc. Final figures for the four-day holiday weekend will be released on Tuesday.

Previously, Disney's "Eight Below" was the top President's Day opener, bringing in 25 million dollars over the four-day weekend last year.

"Ghost Rider" also marks the best three-day opening of the year and the biggest career opening for Cage.

In second place this weekend was "Bridge to Terabithia," which brought in 22.5 million dollars over the three-day weekend and about 29 million over the long holiday. The family adventure is based on the beloved Katherine Paterson novel about two kids who discover a magical kingdom where they reign as king and queen.

Each of the five major new releases, also including romantic comedies "Music and Lyrics" and "Daddy's Little Girls," took in more than 10 million dollars over the weekend, helping the industry set overall records and snap out of a six-week slump.

U.S. and Canadian totals were likely to reach 185 million dollars in the four-day-period, box office estimates said.

Meanwhile, "Ghost Rider" also got off to a fast start internationally, opening No. 1 in all 21 territories that reported grosses Sunday.

Sony estimated foreign grosses of 15.5 million dollars from the24 markets where the film opened outside the U.S. and Canada, with the biggest takes coming from Russia, Spain, Mexico, Australia and Taiwan.

Editor: Donald