Affleck’s ‘Argo’ tops North American box office

“Argo” cast members, from left, John Goodman, Bryan Cranston, Ben Affleck, Clea DuVall, Kerry Bishe’ and Scoot McNairy, recipients of the Hollywood Ensemble Acting Award, pose together backstage at the 16th Annual Hollywood Film Awards Gala on Monday, Oct. 22, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif. AP

LOS ANGELES— “Argo,” based on a true story about six Americans spirited out of Iran during the 1979-80 hostage crisis, was the top movie in North America this weekend with $12.3 million in tickets sold, industry estimates showed Sunday.

In its second week of release, the film directed by and starring Hollywood actor Ben Affleck jumped from the second to the top spot, earning a total of $60.8 million.

Second place went to the animated film “Hotel Transylvania” about an overprotective vampire dad intent on guarding his adolescent daughter against a budding romance with a human boy. The movie earned $9.4 million.

The third spot went to the debut of the genre-busting, time-traveling “Cloud Atlas,” in which Tom Hanks and Halle Berry each play six different roles set across a 500-year span. It earned $9.4 million.

“Paranormal Activity 4,” the fourth place film, fell three spots from its chart-topping debut last week. The fourth installment in the found-footage franchise raked in $8.7 million dollars, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Fifth place went to the latest in the franchise of “Silent Hill” movies, which earned $8 million in ticket sales.

Action film “Taken 2″m – Liam Neeson’s return as ex-CIA agent Bryan Mills – came in sixth place, also with earnings of $8 million.

“Here Comes the Boom,” a comedy starring Kevin James as a high school teacher who looks to become a mixed martial arts fighter to raise money for his school, was in seventh place with $5.5 million.

Horror flick “Sinister,” starring Ethan Hawke, was eighth with $5.1.

Ninth was action drama “Alex Cross,” starring Tyler Perry as the popular James Patterson detective character, with $5.1 million.

Rounding out the top ten was the debut of the Halloween-themed adolescent comedy “Fun Size,” which earned $4.1 million.