‘Expendables 2’ holds lead in North America box office

Arnold Schwarzenegger attends the premiere for “The Expendables 2” at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre on Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012 in Los Angeles. AP

LOS ANGELES—A-list action romp “The Expendables 2” held onto the top rung of the North American box office for a second weekend, keeping “The Bourne Legacy” at bay, industry estimates showed Sunday.

“The Expendables 2,” which stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jet Li as mercenaries, raked in $13.5 million a week after its debut, according to movie tracker Exhibitor Relations.

“The Bourne Legacy” – starring Jeremy Renner as a secret agent threatened by his employers in the latest installment of the popular series that had starred Matt Damon as Jason Bourne – took in $9.3 million for second place.

Coming in third, also for a second week in a row, was “ParaNorman,” an animated movie about a boy who can speak with the dead. It earned $8.5 million in ticket sales.

Political spoof “The Campaign,” starring Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis, remained in fourth place, with box office receipts of $7.4 million.

“The Dark Knight Rises,” the latest Batman film, climbed back up to fifth place, earning $7.2 million. The final installment in the trilogy directed by Christopher Nolan has so far raked in more than $420 million.

Quirky fantasy-comedy “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” climbed to sixth place a week after its debut, bringing in $7.1 million.

“Premium Rush,” an action film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a bike messenger being pursued by a corrupt cop, debuted in seventh at $6.3 million.

“2016: Obama’s America,” a documentary by conservative writer and commentator Dinesh D’Souza, shot to eighth place from a distant 13th last week, bringing in $6.2 million.

Rounding out the top ten were Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones’s romantic comedy “Hope Springs,” with $9.1 million in ticket sales, and action chase film “Hit and Run,” which made $4.7 million in its opening weekend.