Animals and Aliens Take Over Box Office

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and Prometheus have taken first and second place in the Box Office Top Ten list on their opening weekends.

The animals are back

According to the Star Tribune, "'Madagascar 3' outdid the $47.2 million debut of the 2005 original, though it came in behind the $63.1 million opening of the first sequel, 2008's 'Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa.' 'Europe's Most Wanted' had the added benefit of today's higher ticket prices and a bump from fans who caught 3-D shows, which cost a few dollars more than 2-D screenings."

Madagascar 3's total worldwide gross was $135.9 million on its opening weekend.

On the other end of the spectrum, Prometheus - the prequel to James Cameron's Alien - surprised many people by taking in $50 million on its opening weekend. This is surprising because the film is rated R, and generally R-rated films do not do well in theaters because the audience is limited to people who are 17 and older (unless accompanied by an adult). "Conventional wisdom is that action films should come in with a PG-13 rating to cast the widest net possible for its audience" (Star Tribune); however, Prometheus proved that rule does not always apply with a total worldwide gross of $141.5 million and its second-place position in the Box Office Top Ten list.

Keeping up with The Avengers, the superhero smash is down to #5 on the Box Office list, but its worldwide revenue is just under $1.4 billion dollars as of today.


Here are the Top Ten highest grossing films in U.S. and Canadian theaters (as compiled by the Star Tribune):

1. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted - $60.4 million
2. Prometheus - $50 million
3. Snow White & the Huntsman - $23 million
4. Men in Black 3 - $13.5 million
5. The Avengers - $10.8 million
6. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - $3.2 million
7. What to Expect When You're Expecting - $2.7 million
8. Battleship - $2.3 million
9. The Dictator - $2.2 million
10. Moonrise Kingdom - $1.6 million


And here are the Top Ten PlayStation 3 games for June (as compiled by Game Informer):

1. Max Payne 3
2. Journey
3. Awesomenauts
4. Dragon's Dogma
5. The Walking Dead Episode One: A New Day
6. Prototype 2
7. Skullgirls
8. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier
9. Starhawk
10. Dirt Showdown




 - Edessa, signing off