Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds’ starrer ‘Safe House’ had a slim lead at the box office during the President’s Day weekend with 24 million dollars.

That put it a fraction ahead of Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum’s ‘The Vow’ with 23.6 million dollars.

The winner won’t be known for certain until Tuesday, when studios report final numbers for the long holiday weekend.

They often vary from weekend projections, which include estimates for the size of Sunday’s audiences.

No matter which one finishes on top, the movie business remains unusually brisk for winter, typically a slow season at theaters.

The business uptick comes after Hollywood lumbered through a humdrum holiday season at the end of last year, when audiences were apathetic about most new releases.

“I still think people don’t want to stay home, and if you give them good choices, you get them out,” the New York Post quoted said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal Pictures, which released ‘Safe House’, as saying.

The top-five movies were bunched up tightly, with Nicolas Cage’s sequel ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ opening close at No 3 with 22 million dollars.

Dwayne Johnson’s family action tale ‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island’ was No 4 with 20.1 million dollars and Reese Witherspoon’s love-triangle comedy ‘This Means War’ debuted at No. 5 with 17.6 million dollars.

The Top 10 movies at the box office during the weekend were:

1. Safe House – 24 million dollars
2. The Vow – 23.6 million dollars
3. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – 22 million dollars
4. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island – 20.1 million dollars
5. This Means War – 17.6 million dollars
6. Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace in 3-D, – 7.9 million dollars
7. Chronicle – 7.5 million dollars
8. The Woman in Black – 6.6 million dollars
9. The Secret World of Arrietty – 6.4 million dollars
10. The Grey- 3 million dollars