'Expendables 2' kicks box office competition

LOS ANGELES, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Action movie "Expendables 2"

muscled to the top of box office charts over the weekend,

beating three new competitors at theaters in the United States

and Canada.

"Expendables 2" rang up $28.8 million from Friday through

Sunday, distributor Lions Gate Entertainment said. The

movie unites 1980s tough guys Sylvester Stallone, Arnold

Schwarzenegger and others in a sequel to a 2010 hit spy film.

Last week's winner, action movie "The Bourne Legacy"

starring Jeremy Renner, slipped to the No. 2 spot with $17

million. Comcast Corp's Universal Studios released the

film.

In third place, 3D stop-motion movie "ParaNorman," earned

$14 million and the No. 4 spot. In the film, a boy named Norman,

who speaks to ghosts and ghouls, works to save his town from an

impending zombie apocalypse. The movie was produced by Laika

studio, the team behind the critically acclaimed 2009 fantasy

animation film "Coraline."