"Cloverfield," a monster movie directed by Matt Reeves, took the top spot with $41 million in estimated ticket receipts, Box Office Mojo reported, while "27 Dresses," a romantic comedy directed by Anne Fletcher, was a distant second at $22.43 million.

Last week's No. 1 film, "The Bucket List," slipped to third at $15.15 million, followed by "Juno" at $10.25 million, "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" at $8.15 million and "First Sunday" at $7.8 million.

Another new movie, "Mad Money," starring Diane Keaton, Katie Holmes and Queen Latifah opposite Ted Danson, debuted at No. 7 with an estimated $7.7 million in ticket sales.

Also in the Top 10 were "Alvin and the Chipmunks," $7 million; "I Am Legend," $5.1 million; and "Atonement," $4.76 million.

The three new films pushed "There Will Be Blood," "One Missed Call" and "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" out of the top tier.