BEYONCE KNOWLES - US CINEMAGOERS OBSESSED WITH BEYONCE THRILLER

US CINEMAGOERS OBSESSED WITH BEYONCE THRILLER

Stalker drama Obsessed, starring singer Beyonce Knowles, has topped the US box office after its opening weekend on release.

The Screen Gems release, which sees The Wire actor Idris Elba as a businessman whose happy life is jeopardised by an infatuated younger colleague (Ali Larter), took $28.5 million (£19.5 million) during its first three days on release to debut at the top of the US charts.

Obsessed, which easily surpassed its $18 million (£12.3 million) production budget, is Screen Gems' second highest-grossing film for an opening weekend, after horror The Exorcism of Emily Rose.

Time-travel comedy 17 Again fell one place to number two while Fighting, a new action film starring Channing Tatum as an up-and-coming street brawler, took $11.4 million (£7.8 million) to debut in third.

The Soloist, the new inspirational drama from Atonement director Joe Wright, took $9.7 million (£6.6 million) to enter the US charts in fourth.

Starring Robert Downey Jr and Jamie Foxx, The Soloist is based on a true story and tells of a Los Angeles journalist who helps a homeless classically-trained musician.

Finally, Disneynature documentary Earth, a feature-length version of the landmark BBC series Planet Earth, took $8.6 million (£5.9 million) to debut in fifth, the best US opening ever for a nature documentary.

"What a great start for the new label [Disneynature]," said Disney president of distribution Chuck Viane.

"We're going to plant at least two million trees in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, since we promised to plant a tree for every ticket sold in the first week."

The top ten films at the US box office are: (last week's position)

1 Obsessed (-)
2 17 Again (1)
3 Fighting (-)
4 The Soloist (-)
5 Earth (-)
6 Monsters vs Aliens (4)
7 State of Play (2)
8 Hannah Montana: The Movie (3)
9 Fast & Furious (5)
10 Crank: High Voltage (6)