LOS ANGELES: ''The Dark Knight Rises'' stayed atop the box office for the second straight weekend, making just over $64 million. But it's lagging behind the staggering numbers of its predecessor, 2008's ''The Dark Knight.''    

The final piece in Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy has now grossed more than $289 million in its first 10 days in theaters. It dropped 60 percent from its opening weekend of $160.9 million.

By comparison, ''The Dark Knight'' took a 53 per cent drop in its second weekend with a gross of $75.17 million and a 10-day cumulative gross of $313.8 million.

Among the new arrivals in theaters, the comedy ''The Watch'' opened in third place with $13 million. And the dance sequel ''Step Up: Revolution'' opened at No. 4 with $11.8 million.