LOS ANGELES — The weekend box office was sheer torture as the bloody "Hostel," a tale of buddies who stumble into a den of violent depravity, debuted at No. 1 with $20.1 million.

Lionsgate's "Hostel" bumped off the previous weekend's No. 1 film, Disney's "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," which came in second with $15.4 million to lift its domestic total to $247.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Universal's "King Kong" was third with $12.5 million, raising its domestic total to $192.5 million.

"Hostel" follows two Americans (Jay Hernandez and Derek Richardson) whose European pleasure jaunt turns nightmarish when they end up captives in a chamber of torture after a brothel visit.

"The track record of horror films tells you maybe Hollywood should just release horror movies to be successful. I can't think of a more consistently performing genre at the box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

1. "Hostel," $20.1 million.

2. "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe," $15.4 million.

3. "King Kong," $12.5 million.

4. "Fun With Dick and Jane," $12.2 million.

5. "Cheaper by the Dozen 2," $8.3 million.

6. "Munich," $7.5 million.

7. "Memoirs of a Geisha," $6 million.

8. "Rumor Has It," $5.9 million

9. "Brokeback Mountain," $5.75 million.

10. "The Family Stone," $4.6 million.