‘G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’ rises to the number one spot at the movie box office

Boys love their action figures, and they turned out in force this weekend to see the granddaddy of them all come to life. “G.I. Joe: The Rise of the Cobra”, fought its way to the top, bringing in $56.2 million and the first place slot at the box office.

The Paramount film based on the popular Hasbro toys features the Special Forces G.I. Joe battling bad guys in exotic locales and using the latest spy gear and war toys. The Paramount/Hasbro team previously partnered to produce the mega-hit “Transformers” series of films. “G.I. Joe” is directed by Stephen Sommers (“The Mummy”) and stars Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum, Sienna Miller and Marlon Wayans.

Another revered figure of old who draws a vastly different crowd than the action packed “G.I. Joe” took a distant second place. In “Julie & Julia”, Meryl Streep portrays the celebrity cook/author Julia Child. The film took in $20.1 million in its first week out. It co-stars Amy Adams in writer-director Nora Ephron’s adaptation of two bestselling memoirs about the beloved chef.

“G-Force”, Jerry Bruckheimer’s comic spoof of the spy genre featuring cute little rodents, came in third with $9.8 million. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” was number four, taking in $8.9 million for a total of $273 million to date, while the Adam Sandler comedy “Funny People” slid from the top spot to number five with a score of $7.8 million.

Final figures are due Monday.