Screen Gems' dance drama Stomp The Yard dance musical did a number on Fox's Night At The Museum as it toppled the former champion with an estimated $22m opening.

The film followed in the footsteps of Glory Road and Coach Carter as the latest release with in-built appeal to black audiences to reign supreme over the Martin Luther King Day holiday weekend.

Night At The Museum fell to second and raised its tally after four weekends by $17.1m to $185.8m. Sony's drama The Pursuit Of Happyness slipped one to third on $9.1m for $134.5m after five.

Paramount's Dreamgirls maintained its stealthy box office course in the run-up to Monday's Golden Globes and the Oscar nominations a week later and ranks fourth on $64.9m after five weekends.

The other three new openers were led by the drug drama Alpha Dog starring Emile Hirsch, which debuted in seventh place on $6.1m. Buena Vista's thriller Primeval opened in eighth on $6m, while the French animated feature Arthur And The Invisibles debuted through TWC/MGM in ninth place on $4.3m.

Picturehouse's Pan's Labyrinth added $727,066 from 44 screens in its second weekend and has amassed $1.8m. The fantasy drama is playing chiefly in Los Angeles.

Estimated Top Ten North America Jan 12-14, 2006
Film (Distributor)/International distribution/Estimated weekend gross/Estimated total to date

1 (-) Stomp The Yard (Screen Gems) SPRI $22m -
2 (1) Night At The Museum (Fox) Fox Int'l $17.1m $185.8m
3 (2) The Pursuit of Happyness (Sony) SPRI $9.1m $134.5m
4 (5) Dreamgirls (Paramount) PPI $8.1m $64.9m
5 (4) Freedom Writers (Paramount) PPI $7.1m $18.4m
6 (3) Children Of Men (Universal) UPI $6.4m $21.4m
7 (-) Alpha Dog (Universal) Capitol Films $6.1m -
8 (-) Primeval (Buena Vista) BVI $6m -
9 (-) Arthur And The Invisibles (TWC/MGM) EuropaCorp $4.3m -
10 (8) The Good Shepherd (Universal) UPI/Morgan Creek $3.9m $54.3m

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