Just Like Heaven did some heavenly business this weekend--but the devil still hung around.

Reese Witherspoon's love-from-beyond-the-grave romance debuted with $16.4 million, according to studio figures Monday, enough to exorcise The Exorcism of Emily Rose from the top slot and help push overall weekend receipts higher than this time last year.

Despite leading the box office, Heaven, which costars Mark Ruffalo as the flesh-and-blood love interest, wasn't close to a personal best for Witherspoon, whose Sweet Home Alabama still holds the September record with a $35.6 million debut in 2002.

Although The Exorcism of Emily Rose dropped a slot to second place, distributor Screen Gems called its performance "a terrific hold," with the film dropping 51 percent with $14.9 million. With a production cost under $20 million, the PG-13 frightfest/courtroom drama has now earned $51.6 million, and is expected to play "well into the fall." Currently in 2,983 theaters, Emily Rose averaged $4,979 per site, better than the $4,678 per theater taken in by DreamWorks' PG-13 Just Like Heaven at 3,508 sites.

The weekend's other two new wide releases failed to make much of an impression.

Lord of War, starring Nicolas Cage as an international arms dealer tailed by special agent Ethan Hawke, hardly blew up, opening in third place with $9.4 million.

Cry Wolf, a teens-in-peril thriller starring Julian Morris as an exchange student finding murderous goings on at a posh prep school, was a dog, with just $4.4 million in fifth place.

Lions Gate's R-rated Lord of War averaged $3,337 at 2,814 sites; Focus/Rogue Pictures' PG-13 Cry Wolf averaged $2,475 at 1,790 sites.

Elsewhere, The 40-Year-Old Virgin continued to seduce audiences. Dropping only 23 percent in its fifth week, the R-rated Universal comedy was in fourth place with $6 million to bring the overall tally for Steve Carell's hit to $90.7 million.

A handful of pictures opened in limited release, the best performing of which was the critically acclaimed Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. The animated film, showcased in five sites before its expanded release next weekend, averaged a whopping $77,016 per site for a total of $385,078.

Also doing well was Proof. One of several films that Miramax is clearing from its shelf, the PG-13 Oscar-aspiring screen adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Anthony Hopkins and Jake Gyllenhaal. The emotional family drama averaged $24,230 at eight sites for $193,840.

Everything Is Illuminated, starring Elijah Wood as a writer journeying to Ukraine to research his family history, opened at six sites. The PG-13 Warner Independent release, directed by Liev Schreiber, averaged $11,134 for $66,806.

The PG-13 Fox Searchlight release Separate Lies, a tale of marriage and betrayal among the British middle classes starring Tom Wilkinson, Emily Watson and Rupert Everett and directed by Julian Fellowes, averaged $11,605 at just two sites for $23,209.

The R-rated Sony Pictures Classic release Thumbsucker, a hit on the festival circuit starring Lou Taylor Pucci as a suburban teen and with a stellar supporting cast that includes Tilda Swinton, Vincent D'Onofrio, Keanu Reeves, Vince Vaughn and Benjamin Bratt, averaged $10,398 at nine sites for $93,579.

Another Miramax dumping, the R-rated horror flick Venom, averaged just $1,062 at 489 sites for $519,489.

In this early-fall lull, when the movies are usually instantly forgettable and the box office is rarely strong, the top 12 movies grossed $70.6 million, according to Exhibitor Relations, 12 percent above this time last year, when the retro sci-fi Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow opened with $15.5 million, but down 4 percent from last weekend.

Here's a rundown of the top-grossing films:

1. Just Like Heaven, $16.4 million
2. The Exorcism of Emily Rose, $14.9 million
3. Lord of War, $9.4 million
4. The 40-Year-Old-Virgin, $6 million
5. Cry Wolf, $4.4 million
6. Transporter 2, $4 million
7. The Constant Gardener, $3.6 million
8. Red Eye, $2.9 million
9. Wedding Crashers, $2.53 million
10. March of the Penguins, $2.52 million

(Originally published Sept. 18, 2005 at 4:15 p.m. PT.)