LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -- The new Mark Wahlberg football drama "Invincible" lived up to its immodest name at the weekend box office in North America but overall ticket sales resumed their decline as the lucrative summer moviegoing period drew to a close.

According to studio estimates issued Sunday, Walt Disney Co (Charts).'s true-life underdog tale "Invincible" opened at No. 1 with three-day sales of $17.0 million, in line with the studio's expectations.

Sony Corp (Charts).'s Will Ferrell comedy "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" held at a distant No. 2 with $8.0 million in its fourth weekend. Its total rose to $127.7 million. News Corp (Charts).'s late-summer hit "Little Miss Sunshine" jumped four places to No. 3 with $7.5 million as the family comedy added more theaters. Its total rose to $23.0 million after five weeks.

Last weekend's champ, the underwhelming camp comedy "Snakes on a Plane," crashed to No. 6 with $6.4 million. Its two-week total stands at $26.6 million.

Besides "Invincible," three other new releases entered the fray, not that many people noticed. The Oktoberfest comedy "Beerfest" guzzled $6.5 million, tying at No. 4 with the college comedy "Accepted."

The retro hip-hop musical "Idlewild," starring the members of Grammy-winning duo OutKast," opened at No. 9 with $5.9 million. And the adaptation of the children's book "How To Eat Fried Worms" opened at No. 11 with an unappetizing $4.1 million.

Tracking firm Exhibitor Relations said the top 12 films earned $83.9 million, the third consecutive week-on-week decline. But sales were up four percent from the year-ago period, when the hit comedy "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" was tops for a second round with $16 million.

Now that the studios have fired (or misfired) their big summer guns, they will spend the next few weeks releasing leftover product. Moviegoers, for their part, will likely be distracted by late summer activities and back-to-school preparations.

"Invincible" stars Wahlberg as a substitute teacher who wins a spot in his beloved Philadelphia Eagles football team against all odds. Greg Kinnear also stars, as he does in "Little Miss Sunshine."

The presence of Wahlberg, a 35-year-old former underwear model, helped contribute to a surprisingly large number of female viewers - about 47 percent, according to exit polling data cited by Disney.

Not surprisingly, male youngsters turned out in droves for "Beerfest," but a spokesman at Time Warner Inc (Charts).-owned distributor Warner Bros. had hoped it would open "a few million higher" than $6.5 million.

Given its limited release - 973 theaters vs. more than 2,600 for most of the other films in the top 10 - the $5.9 million opening for "Idlewild" was decent. The Universal Pictures release, set against the backdrop of a 1930s speakeasy, was actually finished two years ago while OutKast principals Andre (Andre 3000) Benjamin and Antwan Patton (Big Boi) completed the soundtrack.

According to exit polling 82 percent of the audience was black, and 61 percent female. Universal, a unit of General Electric Co (Charts).'s NBC Universal Inc., released the musical on behalf of Time Warner-owned HBO Films.

"How to Eat Fried Worms," based on Thomas Rockwell's popular 1973 children's book, was released by Time Warner's New Line Cinema, which also handled "Snakes on a Plane." A studio spokesman was not available for comment.

Although it fell four places to No. 12 with $4.0 million in its eighth week, Disney's "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" now ranks as the No. 6 movie of all time in North America with sales of $407.6 million.