Disney's "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" recorded an estimated $42 million at the box office thus being this weekend’s absolute leader. The total was the best opening weekend ever for a movie musical, better than this summer's "Mamma Mia!" with $27.8 million. “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” sold an estimated $82 million in tickets around the globe and $42 million in tickets in North America alone, according to The Walt Disney Company. What began two years ago as a made-for-cable kids' movie about American teens playing basketball and putting on a show has mushroomed into a global phenomenon.

With a $9,967 per theater average over the weekend, "Saw V" looks to be another very profitable entry in the "Saw" series for distributor Lionsgate. All in all “Saw V” earned $30.5 million throughout the weekend. To date, the franchise has banked $316.2 mil domestically, just slightly away from the $317.8 million that the “Friday the 13th” series has accumulated via more than twice as many movies. Every October since 2004, a new "Saw" movie has opened at Number 1 in the $30 million range.

Mark Wahlberg's "Max Payne" fell 56 percent in its second week, falling to third place with $7.6 million. The video game adaptation has now made $29.7 million overall.

"Beverly Hills Chihuahua" is still in top five, on the fourth position actually, with another $6.9 million. The movie has now made $78.1 million in four weeks.

The new cop drama "Pride and Glory," starring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell, opened at Number 5 with just $6.3 million and a per-theater average of around $2,500.