(CBS) – The competition wasn’t exactly strong at the nation’s multiplexes over the weekend, but The Rite ended up having the right stuff.
 
The exorcism thriller featuring Anthony Hopkins finished first at the box office on its debut weekend, earning an estimated and modest $15 million.
 
Last weekend’s leader No Strings Attached, the romantic comedy with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher, dropped to second place with over $13 million.
 
In a virtual tie for third with $11.5 million was the weekend’s other new attraction — the action thriller The Mechanic, starring Jason Staham — and the holdover, The Green Hornet.
 
And close behind, rounding out the top five, was the Oscar contender The King’s Speech.
 
Overall, it was another decidedly slow weekend, with industry-wide totals remaining well below those of a year ago.

Reported by Bill Wine, KYW Newsradio