LOS ANGELES: Horror movie “The Possession” kept its hold on the box office title over the weekend with $9.5 million in US and Canadian ticket sales, according to studio estimates on Sunday.

In a slow weekend, the story about a young girl possessed by a demon came in ahead of Prohibition-era crime drama “Lawless,” which grabbed $6 million during its second weekend in theaters.

In third place, new romantic thriller “The Words,” starring Bradley Cooper and Zoe Saldana, earned $5 million from Friday through Sunday. Lions Gate Entertainment released “The Possession.”

“The Words” was distributed by CBS Films, a unit of CBS Corp . The privately held Weinstein Co released “Lawless.”