LOS ANGELES (AFP) - For the third consecutive weekend, The Hitman's Bodyguard was the top film in North America but the cinematic scene remained deep in the summer doldrums, website Exhibitor Relations reported.

The US Labour Day weekend was shaping up to be the worst in 17 years, industry watchers said, noting the lack of any major new releases.

But Hitman managed to take in an estimated US$10.3 million (S$14 million) for the Friday-to-Sunday period, the only movie this summer to cling to the top for three straight weeks.

The action comedy, starring Ryan Reynolds as a bodyguard protecting a notorious hitman (Samuel L. Jackson), outperformed horror film Annabelle: Creation for the second straight week.

Annabelle, part of the popular Conjuring franchise of movies, took in US$7.3 million, giving it a shot at passing the US$100 million mark domestically, website boxofficemojo said.

Crime thriller Wind River came in third, taking in an estimated US$5.9 million, up from the previous week's US$4.4 million. It stars Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen as federal agents trying to solve a murder on an Indian reservation.

In fourth was the animated family movie Leap! - about a young orphan, voiced by Elle Fanning, who dreams of becoming a ballet dancer in 19th century Paris.

Staying steady at fifth was Steven Soderbergh's droll action film Logan Lucky.