The Grey, a Liam Neeson drama about plane crash survivors fending off hungry wolves, took $19.7 million to lead the pack at the North American box office on its debut weekend, data showed.

The Alaska-set adventure thriller bumped Underworld 4: Awakening, the latest take in the series about the exploits of a woman vampire warrior, into second spot.

The 3D flick starring Kate Beckinsale pulled in $12.4 million, industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

One for the Money chalked up $11.5 million in its premiere weekend.

The comedy starring Katherine Heigl topped fourth place Red Tails, which recounts the World War II deeds of black Tuskegee Airmen pilots, with $10.4 million. Thriller Man on a Ledge was in fifth, netting $8 million on its first weekend, trailed by Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, the Tom Hanks-Sandra Bullock story of a family impacted by the 9/11 attacks, with $7 million.

Mark Wahlberg’s crime drama Contraband was in seventh spot with $6.7 million.

The Descendants took eighth spot with $6.4 million. The George Clooney family drama was enjoying a surge in ticket sales in its 11th week in theatres after it was nominated for best picture, best director and best actor Oscars.

Rounding out the top 10 were Beauty and the Beast in 3D ($5.3 million) and action flick Haywire ($4.0 million), the figures showed.

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