Yes, people love talking dogs. For a second weekend in a row, Disney’s "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" topped the North American box office, fetching an estimated $17.5 million from 3,218 theaters, enough to beat Warner Bros.' Leonardo DiCaprio-Russell Crowe starrer "Body of Lies" and Universal's sports drama "The Express," Variety reported.

"Repeating as No. 1 in this business is really, really difficult," said Chuck Viane, the president of distribution for Disney. However, the talking dog flick was a well-deserved break for moviegoers from all the market-free-fall on Wall Street, Viane added. "Going into this weekend, I don't think anyone would have handicapped us as the picture that would have won the weekend."

Most of the noise focused on "Body of Lies," a Mideast political thriller with Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe, based on Post political columnist David Ignatius’ novel of the same name. The $70 million film scored $5 million less than projected.

"I'm a bit disappointed," said Dan Fellman, the studio's domestic distribution president. "It was too good for the gross it recorded."

The movie marks Crowe's fourth collaboration with director Ridley Scott after the crime epic "American Gangster" which also starred Denzel Washington. The two also worked together on "Gladiator" and "A Good Year."

Unlike "Lies," low-budget zombie horror "Quarantine" opened at No. 2 with $14.2 million. The Sony Screen Gems release centers on a contagion that turns an apartment building's tenants into flesh-hungry monsters.

Shia LaBeouf's thriller "Eagle Eye" dropped two places, taking the fourth spot with $11 million, raising its total to $70.6 million. "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" rounded out the top 5 with $6.5 million.

In the meantime, "The Express," based on the true story of college running back Ernie Davis, reached the low end of expectations with $4.7 million opening on the sixth place, while the Fox-Walden family adventure "City of Ember," starring Tim Robbins and Bill Murray, failed to spark with just $3.2 mil, way down at No. 10.

Overall, the box office performed a little better than last year. The total estimate as of early Sunday was around $105 million, nearly 6% higher than for the same weekend last year.