Witch beats Watchmen in US charts

The film's supernatural siblings are being tracked by a sinister organisation

Children's film Race to Witch Mountain knocked Watchmen off the top slot at the North American box office at the weekend taking $25m (�17.7m).

The Disney picture is a remake of the 1975 film Escape to Witch Mountain and stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as a taxi driver protecting alien children.

Superhero film Watchmen took $18.1m (�12.7m), with ticket sales dropping 67% from its opening week.

Warner Bros pictures said the fall was in line with expectations.

Jeff Goldstein, executive vice president of domestic distribution the company, added the movie had "tremendous staying power".

Race to Witch Mountain performed better than pre-release predictions.

Mark Zoradi, president of Disney's motion picture group said audiences may have been bolstered by "parents over 30 who remembered the original and were drawn to this one."

"About 20 per cent of the audience was unaccompanied adults," he added.

The film's director Andy Fickman also made Game Plan for Disney, again with Dwayne Johnson in the lead.

US BOX OFFICE

1. Race to Witch Mountain - $25m

2. Watchmen - $18m

3. The Last House on the Left - $14.7m

4. Taken - $6.7m

5. Madea Goes to Jail - $5.1m

6. Slumdog Millionaire - $5m

7. Paul Blart: Mall Cop $3.1m

8. He's Just Not That Into You - $2.9m

9. Coraline - $3.3m

10. Miss March - $2.4m

Source: Media By Numbers

He has just been signed to direct a third family adventure for the studio, a remake of graphic novel Monster Attack Network, according to industry magazine Variety.

The Last House on the Left, another remake, came third in this week's chart, taking $14.7m (�10.3m).

The film, based on Wes Craven's 1972 horror thriller, fell short of last month's Friday the 13th remake which took $40m (�28.1m) in its opening weekend.

Liam Neeson thriller Taken remained at number four, taking $6.7 million in its seventh weekend

Director Tyler Perry's former number one Madea Goes To Jail was at five.

Slumdog Millionaire stayed in the top ten following its triumph at the Oscars in February.