LOS ANGELES — Movie-goers welcomed Samuel L. Jackson to the neighborhood, lifting his thriller "Lakeview Terrace" to the top spot at the weekend box office with $15.6 million in sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Jackson's tale about a cop terrorizing his new neighbors, released by Sony's Screen Gems banner, led a rush of new wide releases that generally did only so-so business.

Debuting at No. 3 with $8.3 million was Lionsgate's romantic comedy "My Best Friend's Girl," starring Kate Hudson as a woman who comes between best buddies played by Dane Cook and Jason Biggs.

Opening in fourth place with $8 million was MGM's animated comedy "Igor," featuring the voices of John Cusack and Molly Shannon in a story of a hunchbacked lab gofer trying to become a mad scientist.

The DreamWorks-Paramount supernatural romance "Ghost Town" premiered at No. 8 with $5.2 million. The film stars Ricky Gervais as an anti-social dentist besieged by ghosts, including a philanderer (Greg Kinnear) scheming to prevent his widow (Tea Leoni) from remarrying.

After doing strong business last weekend, Hollywood slipped back into the slowdown that has persisted the last two months. Overall revenues came in at $93 million, down 4 percent from the same weekend last year, according to Media By Numbers.

Estimated sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers, were:

1. "Lakeview Terrace," $15.6 million.

2. "Burn After Reading," $11.3 million.

3. "My Best Friend's Girl," $8.3 million.

4. "Igor," $8 million.

5. "Righteous Kill," $7.7 million.

6. "Tyler Perry's the Family That Preys," $7.5 million.

7. "The Women," $5.3 million.

8. "Ghost Town," $5.2 million.

9. "The Dark Knight," $3 million.

10. "The House Bunny," $2.8 million.