Nicolas Cage thriller knocks Witch Mountain reboot off US No 1

Nicolas Cage's latest action vehicle, Knowing, rocketed to the top of the US box office at the weekend with a haul of $24.8m (£16.9m), but there was disappointment for Julia Roberts's first headlining role in five years.

Duplicity, in which Roberts and Clive Owen star as corporate spies who team up for a complex con, could only manage third place, taking $14.4m in its first weekend of release. Tony Gilroy's film marks Roberts' first live-action lead since 2004's Closer.

Another new film took the No 2 spot: the comedy I Love You, Man, starring Paul Rudd as a friendless bridegroom-to-be who enlists Jason Segel to be his best man, which managed a lower-than-expected $18m.

The top five was rounded out by the Disney adventure Race to Witch Mountain, which took $13m in its second week, and comic-book adaptation Watchmen, which managed $6.7m in its third week.

After opening a fortnight ago with the year's biggest opening weekend gross to date ($55m), Zack Snyder's much-hyped big-screen version of the Alan Moore graphic novel has rapidly plummeted in popularity at the box office, with its three-week total still under $100m in the US.

Meanwhile, damning reviews proved little obstacle to Knowing's climb up the box-office tree. Distributor Summit will be pleased that it has a follow-up success to Twilight, which earned $380m worldwide. Early reports indicate Knowing attracted a notably wide demographic, appealing almost equally to men and women, with 63% of its audience members being older than 25, according to Variety.