Animated film Puss in Boots held on to the domestic box office crown with a surprisingly strong second weekend performance that beat new Eddie Murphy comedy Tower Heist.

Puss in Boots brought in $33.0 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters to finish first in the weekend box office race, according to studio estimates released on Sunday. Tower Heist, which was favored to win going into the weekend, took second place with $25.1 million.

Another new comedy, A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, earned third place with $13.1 million.

Puss in Boots was produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp, released Tower Heist. Time Warner unit Warner Bros. distributed Harold & Kumar.

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