Los Angeles ? Academy Awards heavyweights such as George Clooney and Cate Blanchett were no match for another of Tyler Perry’s populist tales.

The Lionsgate release “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?”, a marital yarn whose ensemble cast includes Janet Jackson, Malik Yoba, Jill Scott and writer-director Perry, debuted as the No. 1 weekend movie with $21.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Perry’s flick came in well ahead of Clooney’s legal drama “Michael Clayton,” Blanchett’s historical pageant “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” and Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg’s crime saga “We Own the Night,” which all pulled in modest crowds.

“The Game Plan,” which had been No. 1 the previous two weekends, was neck-and-neck with “Michael Clayton” and “We Own the Night” for second-place. Exact rankings awaited final studio numbers Monday.

Despite the rush of movies featuring top stars, overall business continued to slide. Revenues were down for the fourth-straight weekend, with the top-12 films taking in $85.5 million, off 14 percent from the same weekend last year, when “The Grudge 2” and “The Departed” led the box office.

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

1. “Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married?”, $21.5 million.

2. “The Game Plan,” $11.5 million.

3. “Michael Clayton,” $11.01 million.

4. “We Own the Night,” $11 million.

5. “The Heartbreak Kid,” $7.4 million.

6. “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” $6.2 million.

7. “The Kingdom,” $4.6 million.

8. “Across the Universe,” $4 million.

9. “Resident Evil: Extinction,” $2.65 million.

10. “The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising,” $2.15 million.