An action flick inspired by a video game seems to be the perfect formula for a top spot at the North American box office. “Body of Lies” may not have been able to outshine the pampered pooch from Beverly Hills, but “Max Payne” can’t possibly fail; he’s a high-class cop. The film starring Mark Wahlberg managed to lure most moviegoers, thus grossing $18 million throughout the weekend, enough for a No. 1 debut, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.

Impersonated by Academy Award nominee Mark Wahlberg, Max Payne is a cop locked in a world of pandemonium, torment and hopelessness. He is determined to avenge the murders of his wife and daughter and this mission of retaliation, which lingers in his head, opens him a path most of us would walk off immediately.

Mila Kunis fills the bloody shoes of Mona Sax, a Russian assassin who is also seeking for revenge. She wants to find the murderer of her sister, Natasha, played by Olga Kurylenko, and would do anything to punish him.

Max Payne knows Natasha as well, as she stole his wallet and investigators want answers from him, but he is unable to give them any detail upon the woman’s death.

In the meantime, these acts of violence are being looked into by internal affairs detective Jim Bravura (rapper Chris “Ludacris” Bridges), who also keeps an eye on Max Payne and becomes suspicious of the cop.

Close to death, Max Payne is motivated by an apparition of his late wife and child. Since she specifically tells him, “You’re not done yet,” the avenging cop gathers all the force he needs to escape from the hands of death. While he is trying to regain his self-control, Max Payne takes a drug called Valkyrie, which gets in his possession as a result of a plotted scheme arranged by the bad guys, evidently. Therefore, the drug takes Payne to the dreadful criminal world that has robbed him of everything he had.

Oliver Stone’s heavily discussed “W.” proved that all the fuss and buzz around it was much ado about nothing, as it did not succeed in drawing too many viewers. In fact, the film depicting the life of sitting U.S. president George W. Bush, impersonated by Josh Brolin, took in only $10.6 million and opened at No. 4.

In Oliver Stone's movie, Brolin gives life to an emotionally scarred man, struggling to make his mark and overcome his complexes, thus rendering very clear the director's attempt to also show George W. Bush the man and not only George W. Bush the president in his latest work.

While the director chose to match a face to Bush’s story, his choice (Josh Brolin, that is) manages to match a soul to a controversial figure believed by many to be numb-hearted via his role as the lead character in “W.”

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua’s” box office reign may have ended, but the story about talking dogs did not slip more than one position and claimed the second spot with $11.2 million, barely surpassing “The Secret Life of Bees,” which earned $11.1 million and landed on the third position.

Moviegoers did not consider teen sex comedy “Sex Drive” very tempting as the film opened only at No. 9 with $3.6 million, followed by “Nights in Rodanthe,” with $2.7 million.

Last week’s top 12 productions managed to gross a total of $86.4 million, which represents a 10 percent increase compared to the same weekend last year.