A poster of "Stomp the Yard"

The dance drama "Stomp the Yard" stepped atop the North American box office this weekend, debuting as the new tally leader with 22 million dollars and ending the three-week reign of "Night at the Museum," studio estimates said Sunday.

The Ben Stiller comedy "Night at the Museum" slipped to No. 2 with 17.1 million dollars, but the 20th Century Fox film has made a total take of 186 million dollars since its release before the Christmas holiday.

Columbia's melodrama "The Pursuit of Happiness," which has taken nearly 137 million dollars in five weeks, was at No. 3 with 9.1 million dollars.

The weekend's three other new releases made little impact at the box office, as Universal's suburban gangster movie "Alpha Dog" starring Justin Timberlake, Bruce Willis and Sharon Stone was at No. 7 with only 6.1 million dollars over the three-day period.

Disney thriller "Primeval" about journalists in South Africa on the trail of a notorious serial killer debuted at No. 8 with 6 millions dollars, and the Weinstein live-action and animated family film "Arthur and the Invisibles," directed by French filmmaker Luc Besson, was No. 9 with 4.3 million.

The potentially Oscar contender "Dream girls" from Paramount Pictures rose one place at the box office to No. 4 with 8.1 million dollars, while the same studio's high school drama "Freedom Writers," starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank, was at No. 5 with 7.1 million dollars.

Final figures for the four-day long weekend, including the Martin Luther King Day on Monday, will be released Tuesday, according to the Los Angeles-based box office tracking firm Media By Numbers.

Editor: Donald