'Watchmen' opens at No. 1 in U.S. theaters

LOS ANGELES, March 8 (UPI) -- "Watchmen," the superhero movie based on the complex graphic novel, burst into U.S. theaters at No. 1, Box Office Mojo figures showed Sunday.

The Warner Bros. movie starring Billy Crudup piled up an estimated $55.66 million in ticket sales in its opening weekend, bumping "Tyler Perry's Madea Goes to Jail" to No. 2 with $8.8 million in gate receipts.

"Taken" moved back up one spot to No. 3 with $7.45 million in estimated ticket sales, switching places with "Slumdog Millionaire" with $6.93 million. "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" also rose one place to No. 5 with $4.2 million.

Filling out the top 10 were "He's Just Not That Into You" with $4.02 million in sales, "Coraline" at $3.31 million, "Confessions of a Shopaholic" at $3.12 million, "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience" at $2.79 million and "Fired Up," $2.6 million.

Gone from the top tier this week was "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li."