A decent hold session allowed Buena Vista’s Oz retain its grip on the North American box office thanks to an estimated $42.2m haul that boosted the running total to $145m after two weekends.

IMAX reported separately that Sam Raimi’s latest hit generated approximately $4m on 308 of its giant screens for a $14m running total. The global tally has reached $20.7m.

The Halle Berry thriller The Call opened solidly in second place on $7.1m through TriStar and is being licensed internationally through Sierra/Affinity.

The news was not so good for Warner Bros’ comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, the comedy about magicians that reunites Steve Carell with Jim Carrey after the former’s breakout performance in Bruce Almighty 10 years ago. It opened at number three on a sluggish $10.3m.

Overall box office fell 24% against last weekend when Oz set the third biggest North American March debut in $79.1m. Box office for the top 12 slipped a fraction against the same weekend in 2012, when Sony launched the Jonah Hill-Channing Tatum comedy 21 Jump Street at number one on $36.3m.

Snitch continues to perform well through Lionsgate-Summit and ranks sixth on $37.3m after four weekends. The Relativity duo 21 And Over and Safe Haven rank seventh and ninth on $21.9m after three weekends and $66.9m after five, respectively.

TWC’s Silver Linings Playbook is still a top 10 film in its 18th week in release and has amassed $124.6m.

Fledgling distributor A24 enjoyed a terrific weekend. Harmony Korine’s hipster Spring Breakers arrived on $270,000 from three venues for a sensational $90,000 per-site average, while Toronto 2012 premiere Ginger & Rosa debuted on $45,000 from three for a solid $15,000 average.

Goro Miyazaki’s From Up On Poppy Hill opened through GKids on $55,000 from two theatres for an excellent $27,500 average.

Next weekend’s wide releases are DreamWorks Animation’s first release through Fox, The Croods; Focus Features’ comedy Admission with Tina Fey and Paul Rudd; and the Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart thriller Olympus Has Fallen through FilmDistrict.

Estimated Top 10 North America Mar 15-17 2012
Film (Dist) / Est wkd gross / Est total to date

1 (1) Oz The Great And Powerful (Buena Vista) WDSMPI $42.2m $145m

2 (-) The Call (TriStar) Sierra/Affinity $17.1m –

3 (-) The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (Warner Bros) WBPI $10.3m –

4 (2) Jack The Giant Slayer (Warner Bros) WBPI $6.2m $53.9m

5 (3) Identity Thief (Universal) UPI $4.5m $123.7m

6 (5) Snitch (Summit Entertainment) Exclusive Media $3.5m $37.3m

7 (6) 21 And Over (Relativity) FilmNation $2.6m $21.9m

8 (8) Silver Linings Playbook (TWC) TWC Int’l $2.6m $124.6m

9 (7) Safe Haven (Relativity) FilmNation $2.5m $66.9m

10 (9) Escape From Planet Earth (TWC) TWC Int’l $2.3m $52.2m

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