CORRECTED - Alien action film 'District 9' tops box office

(Corrects national origin of director in 3rd paragraph)

LOS ANGELES Aug 16 (Reuters) - Sci-fi action thriller "District 9," about a colony of aliens stranded in South Africa, landed atop the North American box office with an estimated $37 million its first weekend, distributor Sony Pictures (6758.T) said on Sunday.

The faux documentary produced by Peter Jackson, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, was buoyed by largely favorable reviews and a promotional blitz at the recent Comic-Con convention that stoked pre-release buzz.

The film was directed and co-written by South African native Neill Blomkamp, a protege of Jackson making his feature directorial debut after a career of doing commercials.

Last week's No. 1 film in the United States and Canada, Paramount Pictures' VIAb.N "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra," fell to No. 2 this weekend with a Friday-through-Sunday estimated gross of $22.5 million.

(Editing by Eric Beech)