'Men In Black 3' tops N. America box office

The third edition of the "Men In Black" franchise blasted its way to the top of North America's weekend box office, ending the three-week hold of the record-breaking "Avengers," figures showed Tuesday. "Men In Black 3" -- again starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as secret agents battling aliens living on Earth -- made $69.3 million over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations. It took the number one rank away from comic book superhero blockbuster "The Avengers," which slipped to second place pocketing $47.2 million on its fourth weekend in theaters. The film has become the highest-grossing movie in Walt Disney Studios' history with global earnings so far of $1.295 billion, the fourth-highest total of all time. "The Avengers" maintained its lead over the big-budget but critically panned "Battleship," which dropped to the number three spot in its second weekend with $13.9 million in box office receipts. In fourth was comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's "The Dictator," with $11.5 million in its second weekend. Fifth place went to horror flick "Chernobyl Diaries." The tale of a group of tourists taking an disastrous tour of the ghost town of Pripyat in Ukraine, abandoned after the 1980s nuclear disaster, made $9.4 million in its debut. Next was Tim Burton's "Dark Shadows" reboot starring Johnny Depp, in sixth place with $9.4 million, ahead of romantic comedy "What to Expect When You're Expecting" with $8.8 million. "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," a comedic drama about British retirees in India, took in $8.4 million for eighth place. In the ninth spot was smash action hit "The Hunger Games," starring Jennifer Lawrence, which earned $3 million this weekend, and has brought in more than $396 million total in North America since its opening. Rounding out the top 10 was romantic comedy "Think Like A Man" with $1.8 million in earnings.