The comedians of "Funny People" had the last laugh this weekend, taking the top spot at the North American box office, according to preliminary figures on Sunday.

The film, which stars Adam Sandler as a terminally-ill famous comedian who decides to mentor a young comic, earned 23.4 million dollars in its first week, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" earned enough over the weekend period to hang onto second place at the box office for the second week in a row.

The movie, which is the sixth installment of the "Harry Potter" series and sets the stage for the young wizard's final confrontation with his nemesis Lord Voldemort, took 17.7 million dollars in receipts in its third week in theaters.

"G-Force," an action-comedy about a crack squad of guinea pig spies fell from the number one spot to number three, earning 17 million dollars in its second week of release.

Falling one spot from last week was "The Ugly Truth," a romantic comedy starring Katherine Heigl as an unlucky-in-love producer, which earned the number four spot with receipts of 13 million in its second week in theaters.

At the number five spot was new release "Aliens in the Attic," a family adventure tale about a group of children who discover aliens are trying to invade Earth, which earned 7.8 million dollars.

Falling two places to number six was horror movie "Orphan," which tells the story of a couple who adopt a Russian orphan girl only to discover she is not who she seems. The movie took 7.3 million dollars in its second week in theaters.

At number seven was "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," an animated picture featuring the voices of Dennis Leary and Queen Latifah, which managed to stay strong into its fifth week, earning 5.3 million dollars.

"The Hangover," an adult comedy about the fallout from a Las Vegas bachelor party, hit the number eight spot, earning five million dollars to take its eight-week earnings to 255.8 million dollars.

At number nine was "The Proposal," a romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock as a pushy boss who marries her assistant for a US visa, which earned 4.8 million in its seventh week in theaters.

Rounding out the top ten was "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," which fell four spots from last week.

Director Michael Bay's sequel to the first Transformers movie in 2007 earned 4.6 million dollars to bring its six-week total receipts to a massive 388.1 million dollars.

(AFP August 3, 2009)