"21," a movie about casino gambling, dominated the North American box office in its opening weekend, reaping $23.7 million in ticket sales.
The movie tells the story of a group of math geniuses played by Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess who develop a card counting system for blackjack and then take their game to the tables in Las Vegas.
Sony says the audience for its film "21" was split almost evenly between men and women and those older and younger than 25.
"One of the coolest things is it really did play to everyone. It got male, female, young, old," Rory Bruer, Sony's head of distribution, told CNBC.
"21" dethroned Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who, which had held the top spot at the box office for two weeks.