Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- “Zombieland” opened as the top film in U.S. and Canadian theaters this weekend, taking in $25 million in ticket sales for Sony Corp.

“Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” fell to second place with $16.7 million, researcher Hollywood.com Box-Office said in an e-mailed statement. The 3-D animated comedy has earned $82.4 million in three weeks.

“Zombieland,” an R-rated horror-comedy about the last human survivors in a world overtaken by the living dead, is Sony’s sixth top debut this year, according to Box Office Mojo, a Sherman Oaks, California-based researcher. Sony ranks fourth in U.S. box-office receipts with $1 billion through Oct. 1.

“It puts an end to what has been a string of horror flops over the last two months,” said Gitesh Pandya, editor of BoxOfficeGuru.com in New York. “This really shows that Sony has an eye for what horror fans like.”

Sales for the top 12 films fell 0.2 percent to $94.5 million from a year earlier, Hollywood.com said. Year-to-date receipts total $7.96 billion, up 7.5 percent from a year earlier. Attendance is up 3.6 percent this year.

A double bill of “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2,” re- issued in 3-D by Walt Disney Co., was third with $12.5 million. “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2,” first released in 1995 and 1999, are on a limited two-week run ahead of “Toy Story 3,” which reaches theaters next summer.

“Here’s an unorthodox move putting two older films back in theatres and it worked like a charm,” Pandya said. “It proves that Disney really knows what families will come out and pay money for at the theatres.”

‘Lying’ Is Fourth

“The Invention of Lying” from Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. came in fourth place with $7.35 million. The film stars Ricky Gervais, the comedian from the British version of “The Office” television series. He plays the first man to figure out how to lie in a world where people only tell the truth.

Disney’s “Surrogates,” a sci-fi thriller starring Bruce Willis, dropped to fifth place from second with $7.34 million.

“Whip It,” from News Corp.’s Fox Searchlight Pictures, tied for sixth with $4.85 million in its debut. “Whip It” is actress Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut. Ellen Page, who starred in 2007’s “Juno,” plays as an ex-beauty pageant contestant who joins a female roller derby team in Texas.

Director Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story,” distributed by Overture Films, expanded nationally this weekend to 1,000 screens after its limited release on Sept. 23. The documentary, which takes a look at the past year’s global financial meltdown, posted $4.85 million in sales, tying with “Whip It” for sixth place.

“Fame” came in eighth with $4.75 million for Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. “The Informant!” fell to ninth place from fourth with $3.8 million for Warner Bros. “Love Happens,” from General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal, dropped to 10th place from seventh with $2.78 million and Tyler Perry’s “I Can Do Bad All By Myself” sank to 11th place with $2.67 million for Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. “Pandorum,” distributed by Overture Films, posted $1.92 million in sales in its second week, ranking 12th.

The following table has figures provided by studios to Hollywood.com Box-Office. The amounts are based on actual ticket sales from Oct. 2-3 and estimates for yesterday.

                           Rev.            Avg./    Pct. Total
Movie                     (mln)  Theaters  Theater  Chg  (mln) Wks
===================================================================
1 ZOMBIELAND                $25.0    3,036  $8,235   --  $25.0   1
2 CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE       16.7    2,977   5,610   -33  82.4   3
3 TOY STORY/TOY STORY 2      12.5    1,745   7,163    --  12.5   1
4 THE INVENTION OF LYING      7.4    1,707   4,306    --   7.4   1
5 SURROGATES                  7.3    2,951   2,489   -51  26.4   2
6 WHIP IT                     4.9    1,720   2,820    --   4.9   1
7 CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY    4.9      962   5,042 1,991   5.3   2
8 FAME                        4.8    3,133   1,517   -53  16.6   2
9 THE INFORMANT!              3.8    2,425   1,567   -43  26.6   3
10 LOVE HAPPENS               2.8    1,922   1,445   -36  18.9   3
11 TYLER PERRY’S I CAN DO BAD 2.7    1,569   1,702   -44  48.4   4
12 PANDORUM                   1.9    2,506     767   -57   7.8   2

Top 12 Films Grosses


   This Week     Year Ago      Pct.
     (mln)         (mln)       Chg.
===================================
     $94.5         $94.7      -0.2




Year-to-date Revenue


     2009          2008
      YTD           YTD        Pct.
     (mln)         (mln)       Chg.
===================================
    $7,957        $7,400       7.5


Year-to-date Attendance:      +3.6%

To contact the reporters on this story: Inyoung Hwang in New York at ihwang7@bloomberg.net;

Last Updated: October 5, 2009 00:01 EDT