Steven Soderbergh‘s latest thriller Contagion has topped the US box office in its opening weekend, taking $23.1m.
The film boasts an ensemble cast including Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and Kate Winslet, as the characters battle to save the world from a dangerous virus.
Tate Tyler’s comedy-drama The Help falls to second place, after three weeks at the top, with $8.7m, followed by Tom Hardy-led fighting drama Warrior with $5.6m.
John Madden’s remake of The Debt, starring Helen Mirren, falls to fourth place with $4.9m, while Colombiana rounds out the top five films of the weekend with $4m.
This week’s US box office top ten in full (studio estimates):
1. (-) Contagion – $23,135,000
2. (1) The Help – $8,691,000
3. (-) Warrior – $5,607,000
4. (2) The Debt – $4,905,000
5. (6) Colombiana – $4,000,000
6. (5) Rise of the Planet of the Apes – $3,875,000
7. (4) Shark Night 3D – $3,533,000
8. (3) Apollo 18 – $2,913,000
9. (7) Our Idiot Brother – $2,761,000
10. (9) Spy Kids: All the Time in the World – $2,500,000