DISTRICT 9 LEADS THE WEEKEND BOX OFFICE WITH $37 MILLION!

Extraterrestrials invaded the hearts, minds and wallets of earthbound movie fans over the weekend, making "District 9" the top winner at the box office.
The sci-fi tale of space aliens living in apartheid-like squalor beamed in $37 million in ticket sales, thanks in part to a catchy marketing campaign that included bus ads warning that seats are for humans only.

"Everybody was like, 'What is this?' There was a big question mark in people's minds," said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony.

"It did really pique their interest and drove them to the Internet and elsewhere to discover what's going on."

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," slipped to second place with $22.5 million.

Another sci-fi tale, "The Time Traveler's Wife," starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, opened a solid No. 3 with $19.2 million. "Julie & Julia" was No. 4 with $12.4 million.

The weekend's other openings, the used-car comedy "The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard," debuted at No. 6 with $5.4 million, and "Ponyo," by adventure animation master Hayao Miyazaki of "Spirited Away," landed in ninth place with $3.5 million.

It was Hollywood's second consecutive weekend of rising revenues after a month-long slide compared with last summer when the Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight" was smashing box-office records.

Despite a cast that included Vanessa Hudgens of "High School Musical" fame, the teen rock 'n' roll tale "Bandslam" tanked at No. 13 with just $2.3 million.