LOS ANGELES - Beverly Hills Chihuahua was barking up the right tree with movie-goers, who put the Disney comedy at No. 1 for the weekend with a US$29 million (S$42 million) debut, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

Featuring a talking Chihuahua with Drew Barrymore's voice, the family flick about a pampered pooch lost in Mexico led a surge of new movies that boosted Hollywood business, which generally has slumped the last two months.

The top-12 movies hauled in US$95.4 million, up 42 per cent from the same weekend a year ago, when The Game Plan was No. 1 with US$16.6 million.

'We had a huge weekend,' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

'That's really due to the little Chihuahua. The little dog made a big difference.' The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, the DreamWorks-Paramount thriller Eagle Eye, slipped to second place with US$17.7 million, raising its total to US$54.6 million.

The PG-rated Beverly Hills Chihuahua took advantage of a long drought for movies aimed at families, who found the idea of a chatty Chihuahua irresistible.

'They're so cute, and they seem to have great facial expressions, so that adds to all the fun of the whole thing,' said Mr Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution.

Hollywood's other new wide releases had fair to poor premieres.

Sony's Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings as teens who fall for each other on a wild New York City night, had a sturdy No. 3 debut of US$12 million.

The Warner Bros' Western Appaloosa, which had played two weeks in a handful of theatres, expanded solidly to come in at No. 5 with US$5 million.

Appaloosa was directed by Ed Harris, who co-stars with Viggo Mortensen and Renee Zellweger. -- AP