LOS ANGELES ~ Tyler Perry’s wacky comedy about a gun-toting grandmother behind bars, Madea Goes to Jail, led the pack at North American box offices at the weekend, industry experts said.

It was the second weekend in a row that writer-director Tyler Perry’s offbeat heroine was the Queen of Hollywood, earning US$16.5 million from Friday through Sunday.

Teen sensations The Jonas Brothers premiered their 3D biopic in second place, taking in $12.7 million.

Oscars darling Slumdog Millionaire, the love story about an Indian boy who rises from poverty to win millions on a television game show, was in third place, with $12.1 million. The movie enjoyed a whopping 45-percent jump in sales after winning eight coveted Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Next was kidnap thriller Taken, starring Liam Neeson as a former spy whose daughter becomes a victim of human traffickers, with $9.95 million.

In fifth place was romantic comedy He’s Just Not that into You with $5.9 million in weekend earnings, trailed by Paul Blart: Mall Cop, a comedy about a security guard who takes his job seriously, which earned $5.6 million.

Trailing in seventh place was animated children’s adventure Coraline, which racked up $.2 million in sales, and Street Fighter: The Legend, premiering in eighth place with $4.6 million.

Romantic comedy Confessions of a Shopaholic took in $4.49 million trailed by the comedy Fired Up, about a pair of high-school footballers who join a cheerleading camp. It earned $3.8 million in 10th place.