In a scenario only a Hollywood producer could have dreamt up, a remake of a 1970s cult horror movie about zombies attacking humans in an abandoned shopping mall drove Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" from the top of the box-office heap.

The $26 million "Dawn of the Dead" remake easily cruised to a #1 finish with an estimated $27.3 million take over the weekend, according to studio estimates. The surprisingly strong finish for the Sarah Polley/ Ving Rhames popcorn flick meant that Gibson's run at #1 was stopped at three weeks. The controversial retelling of the final 12 hours in the life of Christ lost 40 percent of its audience, but slipped only one spot on $19.2 million in estimated grosses, bringing its to-date domestic total to $295.3 million.

Angelina Jolie couldn't scare up quite as much business, as her FBI crime drama "Taking Lives" debuted at #3 with $11.4 million. The only other new release to debut in the top 10 was the Jim Carrey romance "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," which came in at #6 on $8.6 million in receipts in limited release. The film was written by quirky "Being John Malkovich" scribe Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry, best known for his innovative videos for the likes of the White Stripes and Björk.

"Starsky & Hutch" had another strong weekend, taking home $10.7 million, good enough for fourth place. The four-week total for the Ben Stiller/ Owen Wilson flick stands at $67.8 million.

Rounding out the top 10 are "Secret Window" at #5 with $9.6 million; "Hidalgo" at #7 with $8.5 million; "Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London" at #8 with $6 million; "50 First Dates" at #9 with $4.3 million and "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen" at #10 with $1.5 million.

Thanks to the strong debuts and the continuing draw of "The Passion," the top 12 films grossed $110 million, a 33 percent uptick from the same weekend last year.