'The Dark Knight Rises' holds off 'Total Recall' to stay atop

Sunday estimates showed that " The Dark Knight Rises" continued to cast a spell on moviegoers in North America this past weekend, as the new Batman sequel successfully held off a pair of new films to remain atop the box office chart for the third consecutive three-day frame.

The conclusion to Christopher Nolan's superhero trilogy is estimated to have taken in 36.4 million U.S. dollars, bringing its total box office receipts to 354.6 million dollars, according to Warner Bros.

Battling for the top position in the box office derby with the film were two potentially strong rivals.

"Total Recall," a Sony Pictures reboot of the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger hit, opened with 26 million U.S. dollars in tickets sales, settling in second place. "Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days," the third entry in 20th Century Fox's popular children franchise, was softer, opening with an estimated 14.7 million U.S. dollars in receipts.

"Total Recall," a pricey remake which features Colin Farrell as the leading star, met industry expectation with its opening. However, it has failed to connect with audiences. According to market research firm CinemaScore, those who have seen the flick gave it a mediocre grade of C+. Like the prior film which starred Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone, "Total Recall" still bases it story in 2084 and focuses on how Douglas Quaid, a factory worker who suffers from violent nightmares, tries to reveal his real identity and retrieve his lost memories.

"The Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days," a modestly budgeted kids flick of the Wimpy Kid series that was launched by Fox in 2010, failed to open with solid receipts. However, the family skewing flick, which was based on Jeff Kinney's popular illustrated book series, is considered to be able to make handsome gains as more school children will go to the theaters. Moviegoers assigned it an average grade of A-, which is indicative of the future momentum.

Rounding out the 10 most popular films in the United States and Canada this weekend are "Ice Age: Continental Drift" (8.4 million U.S. dollars), "The Watch" (6.4 million), "Ted" (5.5 million), " Step Up: Revolution" (5.3 million), "The Amazing Spider Man" (4.3 million), "Brave" (2.9 million), and "Magic Mike" (1.4 million).