LOS ANGELES -- Chicken Little remained No. 1 in the pecking order, taking in $32 million US in its second weekend to beat back a flock of new movies.

Rapper Curtis 50 Cent Jackson's semi-autobiographical drama Get Rich or Die Tryin' premiered at No. 4 with $12.5 million, though it played in fewer theatres than its competitors. The movie has grossed $18.2 million since opening Wednesday.

Also debuting in the top 10 was Keira Knightley's Pride & Prejudice, a new take on Jane Austen's 19th-century classic of romance and class conflict. The film came in at No. 10 with $2.8 million while playing in just 215 theatres, compared to 3,223 for Zathura, 2,441 for Derailed and 1,652 for Get Rich or Die Tryin'.

The overall box office was down, with the top 12 movies grossing $114.7 million, off 15% from the same weekend last year, when The Incredibles was No. 1 with $50.3 million.

Movie admissions are running eight per cent behind last year's, but the industry will get a big bump Friday with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the fourth film about the boy wizard.

With $80.8 million taken in domestically in 10 days, the cartoon tale Chicken Little should soar past the $100-million mark by this coming weekend. That's good news for distributor Disney, whose recent animated slate has been lacklustre.

Zathura, adapted from the children's book, follows the adventures of two brothers hurled into space by a mysterious board game. Distributor Sony hopes Zathura can hang on to a good share of the family audience through Thanksgiving, despite Chicken Little and Harry Potter.

"History proves there's room for several of these family-type films. This is the perfect time of year for it," said Rory Bruer, Sony head of distribution.

Derailed was the first release by the Weinstein Co., formed by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who parted ways with their original company, Disney-owned Miramax.

"She's done a few things in the R-rated realm, but to see her in a sexy light, not the-girl-next-door light, and have her fans still show up shows how versatile an actress she is," said Gary Faber, head of marketing for the Weinstein Co.

The studio's head of distribution, Wayne Lewellen, said the cachet of director Jim Sheridan could help broaden the audience in subsequent weekends.

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