'300' rises above 'Mr. Peabody' to capture weekend box office

The Greek-era action film "300: Rise of an Empire" battled its way to $45 million in ticket sales to win the weekend box office race, slashing its way past the animated film "Mr. Peabody & Sherman."

"Mr. Peabody & Sherman," based on the "Peabody's Improbable History" segments of the 1960s animated TV show starring the characters Rocky and Bullwinkle, collected ticket sales of $32.5 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters.

Last week's box office winner, "Non-Stop," was third with $15.4 million in sales. The film stars Liam Neeson as an alcoholic U.S. air marshal racing to stop a string of murders on an international flight.

(Reporting By Ronald Grover and Chris Michaud; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)