THE animated telling of "Beowulf," who rids a Danish kingdom of the feared beast Grendel, slew the box office over the weekend, giving a huge boost to 3-D films in the process.

The film earned US$28.1 million in its opening weekend -- 40 percent of which came from special 3-D showings in regular theaters and on Imax screens.

The film did US$8 million in ticket sales on 638 screens equipped with technology from RealD, which uses a special reflective screen and polarized lens glasses that moviegoers can take as a souvenir.

Theater owners were able to charge about US$2 extra for the 3-D showing.

The film also sold US$3.6 million worth of tickets on 84 Imax screens showing the film using their own 3-D technology.

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film used performance-capture technology to render lifelike images of its stars Ray Winstone and Angelina Jolie.

The animated family film "Bee Movie," written by Jerry Seinfeld, had the second-highest gross of the weekend with US$14.3 million in ticket sales, bringing its total after three weeks to US$98.8 million.

The "Bee Movie" has been hovering in the top two spots at the box office since it opened.

The fantasy tale "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" opened in fifth place with US$10 million. The movie stars Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman in a story of an eccentric who owns a toy store with a life of its own.

The other film opening over the weekend, "Love in the Time of Cholera" debuted in 10th place with US$1.9 million.

(SD-Agencies)