'Harry Potter' casts new spell on North American box office

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" cast its magic on North American box offices, conjuring up 77.4 million dollars on its first weekend, estimates showed yesterday.

The fifth installment of the long-running series beat out last week's winner, "Transformers," which earned 36 million dollars in ticket sales, according to estimates from box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Another flick targeted to summer-movie-loving children, "Ratatouille," about a gourmet French rat, landed in third place with 18 million dollars.

In fourth was Bruce Willis's return as action-hero cop John McClane in "Live Free or Die Hard," earning 10.9 million dollars.

Robin Williams's turn as a laugh-grabbing priest in "License to Wed," earned the film the fifth spot with a take of 7.4 million dollars.

The creepy tale of a haunted hotel room, "1408" starring John Cusack, kept sixth place with 5.01 million dollars.

"Evan Almighty," with comedian Steve Carell as a modern-day Noah, sank to seventh with 5.00 million, and romantic comedy "Knocked Up" was knocked down to eighth with 3.7 million.

Vocal and controversial filmmaker Michael Moore's slam of the US health-care system, "Sicko," held its position at ninth place with an additional 2.7 million dollars.

Another sequel, "Ocean's 13," earned 1.9 million dollars, for a total of 112 million for the casino-heist saga and all-star cast including George Clooney and Brad Pitt, keeping it in 10th place.

"Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" took the 11th spot with 1.6 million dollars, and torture thriller "Captivity" opened in 12th with a take of 1.5 million dollars.