New York  - Zombieland, the horror comedy with Woody Harrelson (of Cheers fame) and Jesse Eisenberg, debuted as the top favourite of weekend cinema crowds in North America.

According to studio esetimates, it took in 25 million dollars with backing from critics, who liked the story of two unevenly matched men who make their mark in a world of zombies.

Zombieland pushed Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs - the animated 3-D adventure story of a young inventor - into second place, with 16.7 million dollars. Cloudy has grossed 82.4 million dollars since its release three weeks ago.

The re-release of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D reaped 12.5 million dollars, followed by The Invention of Lying (7.4 million dollars); Surrogates (7.3 million dollars); Capitalism: A Love Story and Whip It, both with 4.85 million dollars; Fame (4.75 million dollars); The Informant! (3.8 million dollars); and Love Happens (2.8 million dollars.) (dpa)