Despite all the build-up and excitement about Ridley Scott’s vaunted return to the Alien universe, Prometheus found itself pipped at the US box office post by a film that shares some serious DNA with previous entries in the Madagascar franchise, namely Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. Riding high on some great reviews and the power built by the previous two movies, this third outing for Alex, Marty, Melman, Gloria and the rest of the gang earned an impressive $60.3 million over its first weekend on release.
Scott and co. need not worry, though: Prometheus itself also did decent business, closing out the weekend with an estimated $50 million. The film has now passed the $90 million worldwide, which isn’t a bad start. The two new arrivals meant Snow White And The Huntsman had to settle for third place in its second week, earning $23 million, while** Men In Black 3** was fourth with $13.5 million. At fifth, we find the year’s box office champ, The Avengers finally starting its slow crawl down the charts, adding $10.8 million. Still, with more than $571 million in the US alone, it's doing OK.
At sixth is the other big success story in the charts at the moment. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel held on once more to add $3.2 million for $31m in the US and over $113 worldwide. What To Expect When You’re Expecting also stayed where it was, with $2.7 million in seventh. Battleship slipped to eighth and $2.3 million, while The Dictator was ninth with $2.1 million. And finally, deservedly jumping into the top 10 thanks to its continued expansion, Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom took in $1.5 million.
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