Paramount replaced itself at the top of the North American box office chart as its new teen thriller Disturbia opened ahead of expectations in first place bumping the studio's two-week champ Blades of Glory into the runnerup spot.

The weekend's other new suspense thriller Perfect Stranger starring Halle Berry and Bruce Willis disappointed and landed in fourth place. Four other new films debuted in wide release but generated little interest from moviegoers. Overall, the marketplace suffered the usual late spring slowdown as for the first time since February, the top ten failed to sell $100M worth of tickets.

Rising star Shia LaBeouf scored a big victory over the weekend with the thriller Disturbia which shot straight to number one debuting with an estimated $23M. The PG-13 pic was given the widest release of the frame's six new entries playing in 2,925 theaters and generated a strong $7,872 average. A modern day version of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, Disturbia played to a young female audience as studio research showed that 57% of the crowd was female and 75% was under 35.

Just before the film's opening day, the studio announced that LaBeouf had been cast opposite Harrison Ford in its next Indiana Jones film. The news may have helped to generate more excitement for Disturbia which was the only major choice for teenage girls this weekend. The safe rating and fairly good reviews may also have contributed. The $20M production looks to become a profitable vehicle.

After its two-week run at the top, Will Ferrell's comedy hit Blades of Glory slipped to second place dropping a moderate 38% to an estimated $14.1M. The 17-day cume stands at a potent $90.2M. Like Disturbia, Blades was produced by DreamWorks and distributed by its new parent Paramount.

Source: BoxOfficeGuru."