'The Town' is the toast of the box office

"The Town" held its opening-day lead at the box office and staked a claim as the weekend's top movie, beating forecasts by a few million dollars.

The crime drama, directed by and starring Ben Affleck, earned $23.8 million in its opening weekend, according to studio estimates. It held steady after an $8.4 million opening day on Friday and finished ahead of predictions that had it topping out at a little less than $20 million.

"Easy A" came in second for the weekend with an estimated $18.2 million, slightly below what it had been forecast to make but still a healthy return for a relatively low-budget movie. The comedy stars Emma Stone as a high-school student whose fib about a sexual encounter spins out of control.

Another newcomer, the scary-thing-in-an-elevator movie "Devil," came in third with just under $12.6 million. Last week's leader, "Resident Evil: Afterlife," dropped off by more than 60 percent and finished fourth with $10.1 million. Kids' movie "Alpha & Omega" came in fifth with $9.2 million.

Among limited releases, the maybe-or-maybe-not documentary "Catfish" pulled in an estimated $255,000 on 12 screens, averaging better than $21,000 per engagement. The drama "Never Let Me Go," starring Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan, earned $120,000 on just four screens, an average of $30,000 each.

The weekend's top 10 movies:

1. "The Town," $23.8 million
2. "Easy A," $18.2 million
3. "Devil," $12.6 million
4. "Resident Evil: Afterlife," $10.1 million
5. "Alpha & Omega," $9.2 million
6. "Takers," $3 million
7. "The American," $2.8 million
8. "Inception," $2.02 million
9. "The Other Guys," $2 million
10 (tie). "Eat Pray Love" and "Machete," $1.7 million each

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Photo credit: Warner Bros.