Well, “Beverly Hills Chihuahua” barked louder than its tiny breed would usually permit. And it did not disappoint its owners either. The new Disney production topped the North American box office, fetching just about $29 million in ticket sales during its first weekend in theaters, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.

Chloe, a pampered Chihuahua whose snobbish thoughts are voiced by Drew Barrymore, managed to take the lead of several fresh movies that spiced up the film industry business, which has been somewhat lethargic throughout the past couple of months.

The spoiled up-to-the-minute pooch may have got lost in Mexico, but she sure knew how to lure audiences into finding her, in theaters of course.

“Beverly Hills Chihuahua” and the rest of the movies that made it to top 12 grossed approximately $95.4 million, marking an increase of 42 percent compared to the same weekend a year ago, when the top spot belonged to “The Game Plan.”

Chihuahua was able to dethrone last weekend’s No. 1 production, DreamWorks-Paramount’s thriller “Eagle Eye,” which had no other choice but slip to the second position with $17.7 million. The film starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan has earned a total of $54.6 million.

It may have brought a romantic touch to this weekend’s new entries, but “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” opened only at No. 3, collecting about $12 million. The teen comedy starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings was not as appealing to audiences as the talkative little Chihuahua was and the characters’ wild night out could have done way better.

The Ed Harris-directed Western “Appaloosa,” starring Ed Harris, Renée Zellweger and Viggo Mortensen, claimed the fifth spot at this weekend’s box office with $5 million, while Vivendi Entertainment’s “An American Carol” debuted at No. 9 with $3.8 million. The movie portrays Kevin Farley as Michael Malone, a left-wing-activist and filmmaker who is campaigning to bring to an end the Fourth of July celebration. However, as the ghosts of three important figures in American history pay him a visit, he becomes a person poles apart from the one he used to be.

Universal’s “Flash of Genius” did not make it to top 10, claiming only the eleventh position with a weak $2.3 million.

The much talked about “Blindness,” starring Julianne Moore, Danny Glover and Mark Ruffalo, grossed $2 million, in spite of its alluring sightlessness epidemic story, while MGM’s “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” could not have done its title job better. The film starring Simon Pegg and Kirsten Dunst took in only $1.4 million, marking a very weedy start.

Bill Maher’s “Religulous” documentary that portrays the comedian on a trip across the world debuted at No. 10 with $3.5 million in 502 theaters, while “Rachel Getting Married,” starring Anne Hathaway, saw an impressive start in a limited release, grossing approximately $302,934 in only nine theaters.

“Nights in Rodanthe” claimed the weekend’s fourth spot with $7.4 million, bringing its total to $25.1 million and “Burn After Reading,” starring Brad Pitt and George Clooney, came in seventh, with $4.1 million ($51.6 million total to date).