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Los Angeles - The frame-by-frame faithful movie adaptation of comic-book classic Watchmen leapt to first place on the North American box-office rankings in its opening weekend, according to preliminary studio estimates issued Sunday.

Directed by Zach Snyder and starring Carla Gugino, Malin Akerman and Billy Crudup, Watchmen is based on a 1986 graphic novel, set in an alternate history, in which the United States is locked in the Cold War with the Soviet Union.

In the story, superheroes unwind a conspiracy following the murder of a retired colleague.//DPA