OCEAN’S Thirteen stole the top spot at the North American box office over the June 8-10 weekend, making off with a cool $37.1 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

The sequel, which reunites George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Andy Garcia for a third time, was on par with the debut gross of the first two films in the series.

But it marks a major triumph for director Steven Soderbergh, who had been harshly criticised for Ocean’s Twelve, and who was widely tipped to become the summer’s first box office casualty.

Having taken the criticism of Twelve on the chin, however, Soderbergh re-assembled his talented cast for a story that found them returning to Vegas [the scene of Ocean’s 11] to take on ruthless hotelier Willy Bank (played by Al Pacino).

Critics immediately hailed it as a return to form, and audiences duly responded by helping it to the top spot at the box office, knocking Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End into second place with a further $21.3 million.

Critically acclaimed comedy Knocked Up slipped from No.2 to 3 in its second weekend – but its $20 million second-week haul equaled the studios estimation for its first week, meaning that the comedy is one of the biggest hits of the year.

Animated penguin movie Surf’s Up, from Sony Pictures, debuted in fourth position with $18 million, one place ahead of Shrek The Third which continues to pull in the crowds despite less than positive reviews.

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