"Messengers" wins box office on Super Bowl weekend

Horror movie "The Messengers" opened at No. 1 in the weekend box office in North America as Sony Pictures scored again in its Super Bowl counterprogramming strategy, according to studio estimates issued on Sunday.

"Messengers," directed by Hong Kong horror experts the Pang brothers and geared toward a young audience with its PG-13 rating, earned $14.5 million since opening on Friday.

But close behind was "Because I Said So," grossing $13 million as Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric, chose to open the mother-daughter comedy starring Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore to appeal to females not too interested in football.