“Beverly Hills Chihuahua” is the top dog at the box office this weekend

Small dogs can do big things — at least they did for moviegoers this weekend. Disney’s new ode to the small canine, “Beverly Hills Chihuahua”, was by far the alpha dog at the box office, according to preliminary numbers released by tracking firm Nielsen EDI.

The pup flick earned $29 million, surpassing last week’s number one, Shia LaBeouf’s thriller “Eagle Eye”. The film, also starring Michelle Monaghan, finished second with a take of $17.7 million this weekend. The Michael Cera comedy “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist” was third, raking in $12 million, while the Richard Gere-Diane Lane romantic drama “Nights in Rodanthe” was fourth with $7.4 million. The critically acclaimed western “Appaloosa” expanded nationwide and was fifth with $5 million.

Just in time for the elections was a host of political fare. The spoof comedy “American Carol” did a respectable $3.8 million, good for ninth. “Religulous”, the skewering of religion from comedian Bill Maher, was tenth with $3.5 million, even though it was playing on only 500 screens.

Final numbers are released Monday afternoon.