Efron comedy beats meaty thriller

Efron's heart-throb status propelled the film to number one, experts say

Zac Efron's new film 17 Again has topped the North American box office ahead of weighty thriller State of Play, starring Russell Crowe.

The High School Musical star's comedy raked in $24m (£16.4m), while the political film took $14.1m (£9.6m).

The new Hannah Montana movie fell from top spot to number four, while Crank: High Voltage starring UK actor Jason Statham made its debut at six.

The US box office is on course for a record 2009, analysts estimate.

According to Paul Dergarabedian of Media By Numbers, yearly takings could break the $10bn (£6.7bn) mark for the first time in cinema history.

US BOX OFFICE TOP FIVE 1 17 Again - $24.1m 2 State of Play - $14.1m 3 Monsters vs Aliens - $12.9m 4 Hannah Montana: The Movie - $12.7m 5 Fast and Furious - $12.3m Source: Media By Numbers

"Unless the world goes off its axis and spins into the sun, I don't see how we're not going to have a $10bn year," he said.

Box office returns so far in 2009 are more than 17% ahead of the same time in 2007, when cinema in the US made $9.7bn ($6.6bn) in ticket sales.

Elsewhere in this week's box office chart, animated caper Monsters vs Aliens held steady at number three, while other releases including Knowing and The Haunting In Connecticut slid down the chart.