The dance flick "Stomp the Yard" was a step ahead of the competition at the box office, debuting as the No. 1 weekend movie with $22 million.

Starring Columbus Short as a raw but talented dancer at the center of a step competition between rival college fraternities, the Sony Screen Gems movie knocked off 20th Century Fox's "Night at the Museum," which had been the top film for three straight weekends.

"Night at the Museum" slipped to second place with $17.1 million, raising its total to $185.8 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

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Strong turnout by black movie-goers who accounted for nearly two-thirds of the audience, according to Sony pushed "Stomp the Yard" over the top. The movie followed in the footsteps of other black-themed films that debuted at No. 1 over previous Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekends, including "Glory Road" last year and "Coach Carter" in 2005.

"Sony picked a great weekend to release the film," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers. "The urban audience wields a lot of clout at the box office. If you put a film in the marketplace that has that built-in appeal to that audience, look at the numbers. The numbers speak for themselves."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Tuesday.

1. "Stomp the Yard," $22 million.

2. "Night at the Museum," $17.1 million.

3. "The Pursuit of Happyness," $9.1 million.

4. "Dreamgirls," $8.1 million.

5. "Freedom Writers," $7.1 million.

6. "Children of Men," $6.4 million.

7. "Alpha Dog," $6.1 million.

8. "Primeval," $6 million.

9. "Arthur and the Invisibles," $4.3 million.

10. "The Good Shepherd," $3.9 million.