Comedy '17 Again' leads pack at U.S. box office

"17 Again," a new comedy starring "tween" heartthrob Zac Efron, led the weekend box office in North America with better-than-expected ticket sales of $24.1 million, distributor Warner Bros. said on Sunday.

The studio had been hoping for an opening in the low $20 million range, and was heartened by initial data showing that the PG-13 movie was playing to a wider audience than the 9-to-12-year-old tweens who made Efron a star in the "High School Musical" franchise.

"We're going to have some legs on this film," said Dan Fellman, president of domestic distribution at the Time Warner Inc unit.

Last weekend's champion, the decidedly tween-oriented "Hannah Montana: The Movie," fell to No. 4 with $12.7 million, taking the 10-day haul for Walt Disney Co's Miley Cyrus vehicle to $56.1 million.

The Russell Crowe thriller "State of Play" opened at No. 2 with a modest $14.1 million. The film was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co's NBC Universal.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc's "Monsters vs. Aliens" held steady at No. 3 with $12.9 million, taking its total to $162.7 million after four weekends.

Also new was "Crank: High Voltage," a sequel starring British actor Jason Statham. It opened at No. 6 with just $6.5 million. The film was released by Lionsgate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp