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"Puss in Boots" pounced on "Tower Heist" and "Harold & Kumar" at the box office.

The DreamWorks 3-D animated film, distributed by Paramount Pictures, earned $33 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. The PG-rated film centering on the swashbuckling feline voiced by Antonio Banderas from the "Shrek" series surprisingly toppled the weekend's two new releases, bringing its total haul to $75 million.

Universal's PG-13 revenge romp "Tower Heist" starring Ben Stillerand Eddie Murphy snatched $25.1 million in the No. 2 spot, while the Warner Bros. R-rated sequel "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas" with John Cho and Kal Penn unwrapped $13 million at No. 3. Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com, said family films are tough to beat out.

"From the re-release earlier this fall of 'The Lion King' to 'Dolphin Tale' and now 'Puss in Boots,' it seems that the family audience is the one you can really count on right now," said Dergarabedian. "I think the cavalry is definitely on the way though. We've got 'Immortals' and another 'Twilight' coming up, as well as a bunch of big releases in December."

Anne Globe, head of worldwide marketing and consumer products at DreamWorks, said the decision to move up the opening of "Puss in Boots" to last weekend is one reason why the film experienced just a 3-percent drop, the smallest ever for a non-holiday film, ahead of the 10-percent dip for "Twister" during its second weekend of release in 1996.

"To be No. 1 again is really extraordinary," said Globe. "It's really an unparalleled hold driven by our two-weekend release strategy, which was pretty unprecedented in and of itself. That and the amazing word of mouth has given us tremendous momentum into November, which is a better play period for an event-level movie like 'Puss in Boots.'"

Another animated film dominated outside of North America. "The Adventures of Tintin," which is being distributed overseas by Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures, scooped up $40.8 million as it grew from 19 to 45 international markets. The 3-D film, directed by Steven Spielberg and adapted from the Belgian comic series, opens Dec. 21 in the United States.

The 20th Century Fox science-fiction thriller "In Time" starring Justin Timberlake fell to No. 5 in U.S. after opening at No. 3 last weekend. "In Time" clocked better numbers overseas, earning $16.6 million in 53 markets for a second-place finish behind "The Adventures of Tintin," while "Puss in Boots" scratched out third place with $15 million in five international markets.

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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Puss in Boots," $33 million. ($15 million international.)

2. "Tower Heist," $25.1 million. ($9.5 million international.)

3. "A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas," $13 million.

4. "Paranormal Activity 3," $8.5 million. ($14.1 million international.)

5. "In Time," $7.7 million. ($16.6 million international.)

6. "Footloose," $4.5 million.

7. "Real Steel," $3.4 million. ($10.7 million international.)

8. "The Rum Diary," $2.9 million.

9. "The Ides of March," $2 million.

10. "Moneyball," $1.9 million.

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Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "The Adventures of Tintin," $40.8 million.

2. "In Time," $16.6 million.

3. "Puss in Boots," $15 million.

4. "Paranormal Activity," $14.1 million

5. "Real Steel," $10.7 million.

6. "Tower Heist," $9.5 million.

7. "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," $7.5 million.

8. "Johnny English Reborn," $7.3 million.

9. "The Three Musketeers," $5.8 million.

10. "Contagion," $5 million.

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Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

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Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Cristiano Ronaldo hit his fourth hat-trick of the season in Real Madrid's 7-1 defeat of Osasuna in La Liga at the weekend while Lionel Messi salvaged Barcelona's unbeaten record in a 2-2 draw at Athletic Bilbao.

Mario Gomez and Edin Dzeko, two more of European soccer's most prolific scorers, were also on target as Bayern Munich and Manchester City stayed top in Germany and England respectively.

SPAIN

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in Real Madrid's 7-1 demolition of Osasuna, sending them three points clear at the top of La Liga.

Angel Di Maria set up the first three goals for Ronaldo, Pepe and Gonzalo Higuain, Ronaldo scored two more to complete his fourth treble this season and Karim Benzema weighed in with another two.

Barcelona are second on 25 points from 11 games after being held 2-2 at Marcelo Bielsa's Athletic Bilbao, where Lionel Messi grabbed a dramatic late equaliser, Cesc Fabregas having levelled in the first half of a pulsating encounter.

Valencia are third with 24 points after beating neighbours Levante 2-0, pushing the season's surprise early pacesetters into fourth with 23.

ENGLAND

The top five in the Premier League all won leaving Manchester City top by five points after a 3-2 victory at Queen's Park Rangers.

Edin Dzeko struck again for City as they came from a goal down to move to 31 points from 11 games.

Champions Manchester United (26) edged a 1-0 victory over Sunderland while third-placed Newcastle United (25) maintained their unbeaten start with a 2-1 home win against Everton.

Chelsea bounced back from consecutive league defeats against QPR and Arsenal with a 1-0 win at Blackburn Rovers. Tottenham Hotspur's seventh win in eight league games, a 3-1 victory at Fulham, kept them level with Chelsea on 22 points.

GERMANY

Mario Gomez scored his 13th league goal of the season while Frenchman Franck Ribery was also on target to give leaders Bayern Munich a 2-1 win at bottom-of-the-table Augsburg.

Bayern, with 28 points from 12 games, are five clear of Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen and Borussia Moenchengladbach who all won to leapfrog Schalke 04, held 2-2 at Hanover 96.

Peru forward Claudio Pizarro scored a second-half hat-trick as Werder came from 2-0 down to beat Cologne 3-2.

Dortmund thumped VfL Wolfsburg 5-1 and Moenchengladbach, who needed a playoff to avoid relegation last season, won 2-1 at promoted Hertha Berlin.

FRANCE

Paris St Germain dropped their first points in seven Ligue 1 games when they were held 1-1 at Girondins Bordeaux but stayed top when second-placed Montpellier drew 1-1 at St Etienne.

Olympique Lyon, fourth, suffered a humbling 2-1 defeat at Sochaux while champions Lille, who are third, could only manage a 1-1 draw at home to promoted Evian thanks to Benoit Pedretti's free kick.

Olympique Marseille were the only winners among the big clubs with Jordan Ayew and Loic Remy scoring in a 2-0 win over Nice.

ITALY

Udinese and Lazio leapfrogged Juventus at the top of Serie A with home victories over Siena and Parma after the Turin side's match with Napoli was postponed due to flooding.

Goals in each half from Dusan Basta and Antonio Di Natale kept up Udinese's 100 percent record at home this season with a 2-1 win over Siena

A late strike from substitute Giuseppe Sculli gave Lazio a 1-0 victory at home to Parma as the two sides reached 21 points from 10 games, a point clear of Milan and two above Juventus.

Titleholders AC Milan won their fifth straight match, crushing Catania 4-0 thanks to goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Robinho and Gianluca Zambrotta and an own goal from Francesco Lodi.

PORTUGAL

Porto and Benfica stayed level at the top of the Portuguese Premier League after away draws against Olhanense and Braga respectively.

Burly Brazil striker Hulk missed an early penalty for Porto who were unable to break down a combative Olhanense side and drew 0-0 after a lacklustre performance.

Spanish forward Rodrigo came in for Benfica after the break and snatched a 1-1 draw against Europa League runners-up Braga, cancelling out Lima's first half opener.

Benfica and Porto have 24 points after ten matches, one point clear of third place Sporting, who beat Leiria 3-1.

NETHERLANDS

Defending champions Ajax Amsterdam fell further behind the leaders as they lost 6-4 at Utrecht in an extraordinary match.

Ajax led 2-0 after 10 minutes, were pegged back to 2-2 but regained the lead just before halftime. However, they never recovered after conceding three goals in five minutes after the break.

Ajax are fifth, eleven points behind leaders AZ Alkmaar who beat ADO Den Haag 3-0.