Los Angeles - AFP
Racy bondage flick "Fifty Shades of Grey" kept its spot atop the North American box office this weekend, a week after scoring the biggest February opening ever, industry data showed Monday.
The erotic tale of billionaire Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) and his sadomasochistic relationship with college graduate Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) grabbed $22.3 million, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
That gave it a total of $129 million since it first opened in theaters. The film pulled in $93 million over its first weekend -- more than 40 percent of the top dozen movies' sales.
The movie scored the record haul despite some decidedly mixed reviews.
Following in second place was British spy-comedy flick "Kingsman: The Secret Service," starring Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson, also in its second weekend, with a haul of $18.3 million.
Keeping its third spot was "The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water," down to third place, with $16.6 million in sales.
New sport drama "McFarland, USA," featuring Kevin Costner as a teacher who launches a cross-country team with students from immigrant families, got $11 million to land in fourth.
Following closely behind was "The Duff," a teen comedy in which high school senior Bianca (Mae Whitman) gets a jock to help her shake up the school's social order. It scored $10.8 million.
"American Sniper," relegated to sixth place, had $10.1 million in ticket sales.
Since its release, the highly acclaimed "Sniper" has raked in about $320 million.
Despite being nominated for a half-dozen Oscars, the controversial film only pulled in one Academy Award on Sunday -- for best sound editing.
New release "Hot Tub Time Machine 2," about a magical hot tub that sends Lou (Rob Corddry), Nick (Craig Robinson) and Jacob (Clark Duke) 10 years into the future to prevent Lou from getting shot, sold the seventh most tickets, with a $6 million haul.
In eighth place was "Jupiter Ascending," with $3.8 million.
The fantasy flick pairs Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum and is a first foray into the genre for sibling directors Lana and Andy Wachowski since their work on "The Matrix" series.
"The Imitation Game," which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as codebreaking genius Alan Turing, took $2.5 million for ninth place.
"Paddington," a big-screen adaptation of the family classic about a bear lost in the big city, rounded out the top 10 by earning $2.4 million.