Since it opened in more theaters than any other film this weekend (3,376) and appealed to the audience that run out to see films the second they debut (males 18-34) it’s no surprise that Max Payne topped the weekend box office charts with $18 million against a $35 million budget. It’s the first number one opener for Fox in quite some time.

What was a bit of a surprise was the long-legged Beverly Hills Chihuahua, which came in second with an additional $11.2 million, constituting only a 32% drop from last week. It actually expanded into 21 additional theaters this weekend, for a total of 3,458 in it’s third week out. The film’s total so far is a little over $69 million, after spending two weeks in the number one slot.

Another surprise came in the unexpectedly strong opening of Fox Searchlight’s The Secret Life of Bees. Fans of the novel from which it was made swarmed the film and gave it good buzz, allowing it to earn an estimated $11.1 million from 1,591 theaters and giving it an average of $6,945 per theater, which was the highest of any film on the Top 10 chart. Pundits wondered whether a female-oriented, period piece with a mostly African American cast would attract many viewers.

Lionsgate’s W., about sitting president George W. Bush, also performed on the high end of expectations, probably thanks to all the media attention surrounding it. Oliver Stone and Josh Brolin were everywhere promoting the film, most notably on “Saturday Night Live.” The bio pic/comedy debuted with an estimated $10.6 million, and there’s even talk of an Oscar nod for Brolin.

In fifth place, in it’s fifth week out, was Eagle Eye, the Steven Spielberg produced paranoia thriller. But another thriller, Body of Lies, starring Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio came in a disappointing sixth, bringing in only $6.88 million in its second weekend in theaters. So far, it has recouped only $24.5 million of its $70 million budget, reaffirming the widely held belief that theaters goers are not particularly interested in seeing films about conflict in the Middle East and terrorism, no matter how big and talented the stars may be.

Overall, Hollywood is humming. The domestic box office was up 10% from the same weekend last year. The increase proves that the market can expand if studios target different demos with their competing films. The only disappointment was the teen comedy Sex Drive, which made a lowly $3.6 million and finished ninth, possibly because it appeals to the same demos as first place finisher Max Payne.