LOS ANGELES - SANDRA Bullock took the crown at the weekend box office in North America for the first time in 10 years with her latest romantic comedy, according to preliminary sales data issued on Saturday.

'The Proposal' sold US$12.4 million (S$18 million) worth of tickets across the United States and Canada on Friday, said Walt Disney Co's Touchstone Pictures.

The film ended the two-week reign of the bachelor-party comedy 'The Hangover', which earned US$8.5 million on Friday, according to Time Warner Inc's Warner Bros. Pictures.

Also reporting US$8.5 million was the new Jack Black prehistoric comedy 'Year One', which was released by Sony Corp's Columbia Pictures.

A clearer picture will emerge on Sunday when the studios issue three-day estimates.

Bullock, 44, stars in 'The Proposal' as a book executive who fakes an engagement to her lowly assistant (Ryan Reynolds) to avoid deportation to her native Canada. Inevitable hilarity ensues when she meets his parents. Reviews were mixed at best.

She last went to No. 1 in 1999 with 'Forces of Nature', which co-starred Ben Affleck. Her most recent wide releases, 2007's 'Premonition' and 2006's 'The Lake House', ended their runs with about US$50 million each.

She generally does better with romantic comedies such as 'Miss Congeniality' (US$107 million) and 'Two Weeks Notice' (US$93 million). -- REUTERS