Wall Street IIOliver Stone’s belated sequel to 1987’s Wall Street has gone straight to the top of the US box office this weekend. Michael Douglas (reprising his role as deviant, underhanded broker Gordon Gekko) is joined by Shia LaBeouf and it-girl of the moment Carey Mulligan (playing Gekko’s estranged daughter) in this follow-up (entitled Money Never Sleeps), which managed to gross a so-so $19m.

Debuting in second place was director Zack Snyder’s CG kiddies animation Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole (a name which parents will have to help their children pronounce) which made $16m – well behind the $55m earned in the same number of days for his previously feature, Watchmen, and a world away from 300’s incredible $70m opening weekend total in 2007.

Nice to the see that last week’s number one, The Town, managed to stay within the top three, its total tally of $49m having now easily surpassing the $37m budget and virtually guaranteeing director Ben Affleck will get another crack of the directorial whip.