Exceeding expectations, , J. J. Abrams-produced reinvention of the monster movie genre, "Cloverfield," wiped out the competition, including fellow rookie "27 Dresses," during its first weekend in theaters, according to preliminary sales estimates issued on Saturday.

"Cloverfield" earned $16.75 million on Friday, while the romantic comedy "27 Dresses," starring "Grey’s Anatomy" star Katherine Heigl, opened to $7.7 million, said their respective distributors, Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox.

The tale of a giant reptile causing chaos in New York City surpassed its $25 million production budget cashing in an estimated $41 million.

The fight between "Cloverfield," described as "The Blair Witch Project" meets "Godzilla," and "27 Dresses," a romantic comedy about a woman a bridesmaid, never a bride, was expected to be a tight one.

According to Paramount, the "Cloverfield" audience was 60% male and 55% under age 25, while also receiving the approval of 76% of the critics.

"The marketing campaign got people talking about the movie, but the reviews helped cement their interest in seeing it," said Rob Moore, the studio's vice chairman.

The movie is now expected to set a record for the Martin Luther King holiday weekend. A Paramount spokesman said on Saturday that the studio expects the film to earn $46.75 million for the four-day period -- double its earlier forecast, Reuters reported. The current holiday record-holder is "Black Hawk Down" with four-day sales of $33.6 million in 2002.

Warner Bros.' comedy-drama "The Bucket List," last weekend's box-office leader starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, held up well in its second weekend of wide release, heading for a No. 3 finish with a four-day gross of roughly $18 million.

Fox Searchlight Pictures' "Juno" slipped one to No. 4 with $3.1 million. Seven weeks after its release, the movie has earned in excess of $85 million and is a likely contender to cross the famed $100 million barrier sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Overture Films' debut release, the heist comedy "Mad Money," starring Katie Holmes, Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton, opened at No. 5 with a modest $2.3 million.