‘Tis the season to be jolly… and entertained. Moviegoers followed the holiday spirit last week and helped “Four Christmases” claim the No. 1 spot at the North American box office for the second weekend in a row, according to studio figures released on Sunday.

In spite of the unconvincing reviews, the Warner Bros. romantic comedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn managed to gross $18.2 million in ticket sales and took its 12-day total to $70.8 million.

The film, which portrays a quadrupled disastrous family gathering, seems to deliver exactly what moviegoers are looking for during this time of year, namely an appealing cast and a couple of side-splitting moments that distract viewers from day-to-day issues.

“‘Four Christmases’ was set up perfectly. It’s an evergreen subject for the holiday period,” explained Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media By Numbers, as quoted by The Associated Press.

Notwithstanding the wavering economy, this weekend’s Hollywood revenues easily outshone last year’s takings, thus maintaining a visible increase for the fifth consecutive weekend. The top 12 productions collected $77.5 million and registered a 6 percent boost compared to the same weekend in 2007, when ‘The Golden Compass” debuted at No. 1 with $25.8 million.

Although attendance is down 4 percent over last year, total earnings are ahead of the pace in 2007 due to higher ticket prices, according to Media By Numbers.

The outstandingly popular vampire flick “Twilight” came in second this weekend, by taking in $13.2 million in ticket sales and raising its three-week total to $138.6 million.

Disney’s animated dog tale “Bolt” claimed the third spot at the box office with $13.2 million, followed by epic drama “Australia,” starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, with a mere $7 million.

The latest James Bond film, “Quantum of Solace,” was No. 5 with $6.6 million, while “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” was No. 6 with $5.1 million and “Transporter 3” claimed the seventh spot with $4.5 million.

Only two fresh pictures entered this weekend’s top 10, as the action sequel “Punisher: War Zone” opened at No. 8 with an anemic $4 million and music biopic “Cadillac Records” saw a No. 9 debut with an impressive $3.5 million in limited release.

“Role Models” rounded out the top 10 with $2.6 million.

Ron Howard’s “Frost/Nixon” saw a great debut in limited release as well and grossed $180,147 in just three theaters, one each in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto. The drama dealing with a confrontation between television interviewer David Frost and former U.S. President Richard Nixon averaged an incredible $60,049 a cinema and is due to expand to more theaters over the next couple of weeks.