LOS ANGELES, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Sony Pictures' coming-of-age comedy "Superbad" did a super job at box office in North America this weekend, earning an estimated 31.2 million dollars in ticket sales and more than earning back its 20-million-dollar production cost.

The movie about three high school geeks trying to score points by buying liquor doubled the box office earnings of another comedy released the same week last year: "Snakes On A Plane" earned just 15.2 million dollar in its debut weekend the third week of August 2006.

Sony officials said Sunday that "Superbad" also broke the 12-year-old record for a movie opening in late August. The film displaced "Mortal Kombat," which opened on Aug. 18, 1995, and grossed 23 million dollars in its first weekend, as the top money-making film to debut after August 15.

Last week's box office leader, New Line Cinema's "Rush Hour 3,"took in 21.8 million dollars over the three-day period, with a total of 88.2 million dollars in its two weeks of release so far in U.S. and Canada theaters, according to box office tracking firm Media By Numbers.

"The Bourne Ultimatum," the third, and probably last, installment of the espionage-action series about an amnesic former CIA agent, slipped one spot to No. 3, taking in about 19 million dollars in its third week of release, and No. 4 was animated feature "The Simpsons Movie" with 670 million dollars.

"The Invasion," a Warner Brothers sci-fi thriller starring Nicole Kidman and new James Bond actor Daniel Craig, debuted at No.5 with a take of about 6 million dollars over the weekend.

The top-selling 12 films in North America over the weekend grossed a total of 110.5 million dollars, up 21 percent from the same weekend a year ago, according to Media By Numbers.