‘Brave’ Easily Beats Out the Competition at the Box Office

Following are the top 10 movies at North American box offices for the weekend starting June 22,  according to studio estimates.

After a down weekend, things picked up at the box office this week as one of the most reliable studios at the box office, Disney’s Pixar Animation, released their 13th feature-length animated film Brave, featuring the voices of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Robbie Coltrane and Kevin McKidd. It followed suit with Disney•Pixar’s previous 12 movies, opening in first place with an estimated $66.7 million in 4,164 theaters. It’s Pixar Animation’s fourth biggest non-sequel opening after Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Up, putting it just ahead of last year’s Cars 2. Brave made an additional $13.5 million overseas in 10 territories, representing roughly 17% of the film’s international release.

DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted (Paramount) dropped to second place after two weeks at #1, bringing in $20.2 million to take its three week total to $157.5 million. It’s 8 million away from surpassing both of DreamWorks Animation’s 2011 movies, but still has a ways to go before surpassing its predecessor’s $180 million domestic take.

Box Office Leaders

1. (*) Brave ……………………………………………………..$ 66.7 million
2. (1) Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted ……….$ 20.0 million
3.  (*) Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter ………….$ 16.5 million
4.  (2) Prometheus ……………………………………………$ 10.0 million
5. (4) Snow White and the Huntsman ………………..$ 8.0 million
6. (2) Rock of Ages ……………………………………………$ 8.0 million
7. (5) That’s My Boy ………………………………………….$ 7.9 million
8. (7) The Avengers …………………………………………..$ 7.0 million
9.  (6) Men in Black 3 ………………………………………..$ 5.6 million
10. (*) Seeking a Friend For the End of the World …$ 3.8 million

NOTE: Last weekend’s rankings in parenthesis.(*) = new release