Moviegoers laid their money down on "21," a gambling romp that was the weekend's box-office high roller with a $23.7 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Starring Kevin Spacey, Kate Bosworth and Jim Sturgess as math geniuses who make a killing at Vegas blackjack tables, "21" bumped off "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!", which had been No. 1 the previous two weekends.

"Horton" slipped to second place with $17.4 million, raising its total to $117.3 million. It is the first movie this year to pass the $100 million mark.

Despite solid holdover crowds for "Horton," overall business continued to dip. The top 12 movies took in $90 million, down 23 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Blades of Glory" was No. 1 with $33 million.

Hollywood started 2008 with a strong uptick in January, but revenues have trailed off steadily since. Movie admissions had been up as much as 10 percent in early February but now are 2.6 percent behind 2007's, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.

"Last year was very, very strong at this point. It's made comparisons very tough," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers. "We're not that far into the year, so every down weekend has a huge impact on the bottom line."

Other new movies had so-so openings. Debuting at No. 3 with $9.5 million was "Superhero Movie," a spoof of Hollywood action films.

"Stop-Loss," starring Ryan Phillippe as an Iraq war veteran sent back against his wishes, opened at No. 8 with $4.5 million.

Former "Friends" co-star David Schwimmer's directing debut, the comedy "Run, Fat Boy, Run," was a dud, taking in $2.4 million to finish out of the top 10.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

1. "21," $23.7 million

2. "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!", $17.4 million

3. "Superhero Movie," $9.5 million

4. "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns," $7.8 million

5. "Drillbit Taylor," $5.8 million

6. "Shutter," $5.3 million

7. "10,000 B.C.", $4.9 million

8. "Stop-Loss," $4.5 million

9. "College Road Trip," $3.5 million

10. "The Bank Job," $2.8 million