AceShowbiz -

Debuted atop the North American box office, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" experienced one sunny weekend. Meeting industry expectation that projected it to earn around the $25 million-$30 million range, this new 3-D animated family comedy has pulled in $30.3 million in total since it opened Friday, September 18.

The children's book adaptation scored the highest-grossing September animation debut on record. The $30 million bow topped Sony's other animation film, "Open Season", which collected $23.6 million during its first three days weekend in 2006. In the overall highest-grossing September opening rank, "Cloudy" was third behind "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Rush Hour".

Screened in approximately 4,500 screens at 3,119 sites, the movie managed to draw kids and their parents despite the fact that schools are back in session. Nearly $18 million worth of ticket sales from "Cloudy" tally came from 3-D presentations at 1,828 sites, proving that 3-D is a significant draw for moviegoers. Commenting on the strong opening, Sony's head of distribution Rory Bruer said, "The meatballs have cleared, so to speak. It really is a feature where everything aligned perfectly."

Second place went to "The Informant!". The Matt Damon-toplined drama raked in $10.5 million over the three days course. The bow was slightly better than what is expected for the Warner Bros. comedy. Still, it marked one of Damon's worst openings. The actor's previous low was the $9.9 million start for his Christmas 2006 release "The Good Shepherd".

After tasting the top slot last weekend, Tyler Perry's "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" slipped to the third slot. With a 57.9|percent| decrease in sales, it brought in $9.9 million in its second week in theaters. Thus, the comedy movie that features Perry's pistol-packing granny Madea has hauled $37.7 million in 10 days.

Opening fourth at the chart was "Love Happens". The romantic drama starring Aaron Eckhart and Jennifer Aniston grabbed $8.1 million in its opening weekend. In a distant fifth was Megan Fox-headlined horror comedy "Jennifer's Body". The Diablo Cody-penned movie collected $6.9 million.

Top Ten Movies at Box Office for September 18 - 20:

1. "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" - $30.3 million
2. "The Informant!" - $10.5 million
3. "I Can Do Bad All By Myself" - $9.9 million
4. "Love Happens" - $8.1 million
5. "Jennifer's Body" - $6.9 million
6. "9" - $5.6 million
7. "Inglourious Basterds" - $3.8 million
8. "All About Steve" - $3.4 million
9. "Sorority Row" - $2.5 million
10. "The Final Destination" - $2.4 million