Hangover's takings push Up down

The Hangover director Todd Phillips also made Road Trip and Old School

Confirmed figures show new comedy The Hangover outperformed Pixar's Up at the North American box office this weekend.

The figures contradict earlier studio estimates that put the animated film narrowly ahead of its nearest rival.

The Hangover's takings in the US and Canada, originally thought to be $43.3m (£26.7m), were $44.9m (£27.8m).

That put Todd Phillips' raucous romp ahead of the $44.1m (£27.3m) made by Up, which held the number one spot at the box office last week.

Will Ferrell's action adventure Land of the Lost made its debut in third place with a comparatively disappointing $18.8m (£11.6m).

Studio estimates released on Sunday had originally put the effects-laden film's weekend haul at $19.5m (£12.1m).

Debauched

It is unusual for final box office tallies to reverse the fortunes of films placed first and second in the estimated rankings.

US BOX OFFICE TOP FIVE 1 The Hangover - $44.9m 2 Up (pictured) - $43.1m 3 Land of the Lost - $18.8m 4 Night at the Museum 2 - $14.6m 5 Star Trek - $8.3m Source: Hollywood.com

However, The Hangover's strong performance on Sunday allowed it to pull ahead of Pixar's critically acclaimed latest.

Set in Las Vegas, The Hangover tells of four friends whose debauched bachelor party weekend goes comically awry.

Its cast includes Bradley Cooper, a rising star rumoured to have a lead role in a proposed film version of The A-Team.

Box office analysts have calculated the year's takings to date are up 12.5% on 2008, but warn business is beginning to drop off.

"Things have definitely slowed," said Paul Dergarabedian, who tracks cinema performance for Hollywood.com. "But there are some potential saviours on the horizon."

Other films which made the Top 10 this weekend included Star Trek, Terminator Salvation and Night at the Museum 2.

Romantic comedy My Life In Ruins, starring Nia Vardalos as a tour guide in Greece, was a new entry at nine.

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