Cop comedy rules at US and Canadian cinemas

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It took a pair of bungling desk cops played by Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg to knock Leonardo DiCaprio's "Inception" from its three-week perch atop the North American box office over the weekend, early figures showed Sunday.

Buddy comedy "The Other Guys," about two officers who take over a high-profile investigation, pulled in an estimated 35.6 million dollars in ticket sales, according to industry tracking firm Exhibitor Relations.

The movie toppled the mind-bending thriller "Inception," the sci-fi summer blockbuster co-starring Marion Cotillard and Ellen Page, which nevertheless held up well to pull in some 18.6 million dollars from Friday to Sunday, and totaling nearly 228 million dollars in ticket sales since it first opened.

In the flick DiCaprio stars as a thief who specializes in infiltrating dreams. The movie has impressed critics with its complex science fiction concepts.

Third place was the Disney dance movie "Step-Up 3-D," which was praised for its use of 3-D technology but panned for its paper-thin plot. It grossed 15.5 million.

Fourth was "Salt," starring Hollywood's biggest female action flick superstar Angelina Jolie, who plays a captivating CIA agent accused of being a Russian spy. The movie raked in 11 million dollars in its third week, and nearly 92 million overall.

The latest Steve Carell vehicle "Dinner for Schmucks," about a quest to find the dumbest guy possible to invite to a dinner meal, sank to fifth place on its second week out, earning 10.5 million dollars.

3-D animated film "Despicable Me" meanwhile also slipped from fourth to sixth spot, with 9.4 million dollars in sales.

The film from Universal Pictures also stars Carell as the voice of Gru, a villain bent on snatching the moon. It has earned 209 million dollars in its five weeks of release.

Next came the kid comedy "Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore," with 7.0 million dollars, and teen heartthrob Zac Efron in "Charlie St. Cloud" with 4.7 million.

Ninth was "Toy Story 3," Disney/Pixar's latest release, with three million dollars, bringing its total box office sales to a hefty 396 million dollars over eight weeks.

Tenth place was held by "The Kids Are All Right," a comedy starring Julianne Moore and Annette Bening as lesbian parents to two teenagers intent on meeting their anonymous sperm-donor father. It pulled in 2.6 million dollars.