Based on a video game, Mark Wahlberg's crime thriller "Max Payne," topped this weekend's North American box office with $18 million while Oliver Stone's take on the current U.S. president, "W," debuted on the fourth spot, raking in $10.55 million.

Apparently, moviegoers showed more interest in the story of an angry, revenge-seeking detective set to track down those responsible for the brutal murders of his family and partner, rather than the life story of President George W. Bush. But the movie, which in the words of Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers, "is very tough to gauge," did well given all that it had going against it.

Walt Disney Co's family comedy "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" pulled in a larger audience than Stone's high-profile biopic, slipping on to the second box office spot with $11.2 million, way above "W," which opened on No. 4 with $10.55 million.

"The Secret Life Of Bees," starring Dakota Fanning as a girl who runs away from hom to live with three black women played by Queen Latifah, Jennifer Hudson and Sophie Okonedo, buzzed it way to the third place grossing an estimated $11.1 million from 1,591 theaters.

This weekend's estimated grosses at the box office are 12% above the same weekend last year, with the top 10 films bringing in $80.8 million.

News Corp.'s first film to debut on top of the box office since "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who," in March, "Max Payne" drew in heavily male and young audience which matched the video game demographic. Males constituted 65% of the Friday audience, and most of them were under 25. But studio officials said 40% of the male viewers were over 25, higher than they expected, and the 35% female audience also beat expectations.

"It didn't take much for a picture to be No. 1 this weekend, given how relatively light the box office was last weekend with 'Beverly Hills Chihuahua' at No. 1 for the second week in a row," said Brandon Gray, president of Burbank, California-based Box Office Mojo LLC, which tracks ticket sales. "It's not a picture that's exciting the market."