Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- The Kevin James comedy “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” kept its grip on first place at U.S. and Canadian theaters for a second straight weekend, taking in $21.5 million in ticket sales for Sony Corp.

The film fended off another Sony picture, the vampire tale “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans,” which opened in second place with $20.7 million, researcher Media By Numbers LLC said today in an e-mailed statement. It also held off Oscar contenders “Slumdog Millionaire” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” which moved up in the rankings to fifth and ninth, respectively.

The top two films this weekend should help Sony move up in the box-office rankings, where it trails three other studios in earnings this year with $79 million through Jan. 22, according to Box Office Mojo LLC. News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox leads the group with $118.9 million.

“Sony’s having a great year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers, in a telephone interview. “They’ve done a good job of making movies that appeal to all different types of audiences.”

‘Underworld’

“Paul Blart” stars James as a single father who works security at a New Jersey mall. The film was co-produced by James and Adam Sandler, who co-starred in “I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry,” a 2007 comedy that brought in $187 million in worldwide ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo.

“This proves that this is no fluke,” Dergarabedian said. “This movie is fun for the parents and fun for the kids.”

“Underworld: Rise of the Lycans” benefited from a fan base built from two previous films in the series. The stories follow an ancient rivalry between vampires and a race of werewolves who were once their slaves.

Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino,” a Warner Bros. film about a bigoted Korean War veteran who must help Hmong neighbors battle a violent gang, dropped to third from second with $16 million. Eastwood, who also directed the film, was overlooked by the motion picture academy in both the acting and directing categories.

The comedy “Hotel for Dogs” from Viacom Inc.’s Paramount Pictures was fourth with $12.4 million. The film, about two siblings who turn an abandoned hotel into a home for dogs, stars Emma Roberts, Don Cheadle and Lisa Kudrow.

‘Frost/Nixon’

News Corp.’s Fox Searchlight earned $10.6 million this weekend after it boosted distribution for “Slumdog Millionaire” to 1,411 theaters from 582, according to Media By Numbers. It finished fifth.

The story revolves around a young couple growing up in Mumbai, and the movie has climbed 29 percentage points on Dublin-based online exchange Intrade since the beginning of the year. That makes the movie, which almost went straight to video stores, a clear favorite to take the Academy Award for Best Picture on Feb. 22, with a 77 percent chance.

Among the other best-picture nominees announced last week by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, “Frost/Nixon,” from General Electric Co.’s Universal Pictures, expanded to 1,099 from 153, and made $3 million in ticket sales.

The Oscar nominations, which were announced on Jan. 22, often provide a box-office boost. Advance ticket sales for “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Frost/Nixon” more than doubled on the day of the announcement from Jan. 21, online ticket vendor Fandango Inc. said in a statement.

‘Benjamin Button’

Sales for Brad Pitt’s “Benjamin Button,” which received 13 nominations, the most of any film, were up 187 percent and sales for “The Reader,” a drama starring Kate Winslet, more than tripled, according to Fandango. “Benjamin Button” sold $6 million in tickets this weekend, while “The Reader” took in $1.42 million, Media By Numbers said.

Rounding out this week’s top 10 in sixth through 10th place, respectively, were: “My Bloody Valentine 3D,” Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.’s remake of a 1981 horror film, with $10.1 million; “Inkheart,” the Warner Bros. film about a father and daughter who can bring book characters to life, debuted in seventh with $7.73 million; Fox’s “Bride Wars” was eighth with $7 million; “Benjamin Button” was ninth; and “Notorious” earned $5.7 million for Fox Searchlight to finish 10th.

Receipts for the top 12 movies rose 9.6 percent to $128.3 million from a year earlier, Los Angeles-based Media By Numbers said. For the year, box-office sales have risen 22 percent to $860.6 million. Year-to-date attendance is up 21 percent.

The following table has figures provided by studios to Media By Numbers. The amounts are based on actual ticket sales from Jan. 23 and yesterday and estimates for today.

Movie             Rev.   Theaters  Wks     Avg./   Pct.    Total
                ($mln)                   Theater  Chg.    ($mln)

 1. Paul Blart   $21.5    3,143     2     $6,841   -32    $64.8
 2. Underworld    20.7    2,942     1      7,036   --      20.7
 3. Gran Torino   16.0    3,045     7      5,255   -27     97.6
 4. Hotel Dogs    12.4    3,271     2      3,779   -27     37.0
 5. Slumdog       10.6    1,411    11      7,477    80     55.9
 6. My Bloody     10.1    2,534     2      3,966   -53     37.7
 7. Inkheart       7.73   2,655     1      2,910   --      7.73
 8. Bride Wars     7.0    2,621     3      2,671   -40     48.7
 9. Button         6.0    2,263     5      2,651     8    111.0
10. Notorious      5.7    1,641     2      3,473   -72     31.8

To contact the reporters on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite@bloomberg.net; Dan Hart in Washington at dahart@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: January 25, 2009 15:56 EST