New releases Rock Of Ages ages and That’s My Boy slightly faltered in their first weekend in US cinemas, which has allowed Madagascar 3 to steal the show for a second week, topping the box office with $35.5 million. It’s good news for Deamworks Animation, as it means the movie is now ahead of where the previous Madagascar movies were after 10 days in cinemas.
Prometheus stayed in second spot with $20.2 million, while newcomer Rock Of Ages had to settle for third place with only $15 million, despite a star-filled cast and a prime summer release spot. Musicals always tend to be difficult beasts, but Universal had hoped they’d be able to ape Mamma Mia! and Hairspray, which both opened in the $27 million range. It seems that while the movie was hoping audiences would see cheesy fun, they just saw cheese and stayed away.
Doing even worse was Adam Sandler’s That’s My Boy, which only grossed a pretty miserable $13 million. Sandler has become one of Hollywood’s more dependable stars when it comes to making money, but this is his worst opening for a live-action comedy since Happy Gilmore in 1996!
Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend on June 15th-17th.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted | $35.5 | $120.4 |
| 2 | Prometheus | $20.2 | $88.8 |
| 3 | Rock Of Ages | $15.0 | $15.0 |
| 4 | Show White And The Huntsman | $13.8 | $122.6 |
| 5 | That’s My Boy | $13.0 | $13.0 |
| 6 | Men In Black 3 | $10.0 | $152.6 |
| 7 | The Avengers | $8.8 | $586.7 |
| 8 | The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | $2.2 | $35.1 |
| 9 | Moonrise Kingdom | $2.1 | $6.7 |
| 10 | What To Expect When You’re Expecting | $1.3 | $38.7 |
Prometheus doesn’t reach the US until next weekend, leaving the box office clear for Snow White And The Huntsman to take a big bite out of the US box office with $56 million in its first three days. While that’s not exceptional, for a film that isn’t a sequel it’s certainly not a bad start at all, especially considering it’s ahead of the first three day take of last week’s Men In Black III.
The Avengers has finally been toppled from the top of the US box office, with Men In Black 3 taking $70 million over the Memorial Day weekend. It’s not quite the $75-$80 million that Sony was hoping for it’s not a bad start, and the studio certainly can’t be upset that worldwide the movie took just over $200 million, suggesting it’ll make back its hefty investment in the movie even if it doesn’t end up as profitable as the earlier films in the series.
The Avengers once again smashed allcomers at the US box office, taking another $55 million over the weekend to take its total to an incredibly impressive $457 million. It believed that its continued success at attracting repeat business is one of the reasons Universal’s Battleship opened to a disappointing $25 million, well below the $35-$40 million that had been expected.