20th Century Fox, DreamWorksMadagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted and Prometheus took separate routes to the jackpot that was the weekend box office.
Madagascar 3 earned the No. 1 spot with an estimated gross of $60.4 million; Prometheus came away with an even $50 million.
Both films were availabile in 3-D; the PG-rated Madgascar 3 had the advantage of being the weekend's new family-friendly option.
Plus, it had "Afro Circus."
For director Ridley Scott, the No. 2-debuting Prometheus is a win, his top-opening movie in more than a decade, and one of Hollywood's biggest R-rated openers ever.
The best-reviewed Madagascar movie yet, Madagascar 3 failed to build on its predecessor at the box office. Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa opened with $63.1 million in 2008.
Though assumed to be a prequel to Scott's seminal Alien, Prometheus was not billed as such.
With two movies coming away with weekend grosses of at least $50 million for the first time this summer, Hollywood fattened up—overall ticket sales were up nearly 30 percent versus last year and last week, per Exhibitor Relations.
Madagascar 3's debut is the now summer's biggest after that of the all-mightyThe Avengers, which upped its domestic total to $571.9 million, and its worldwide take to just under $1.4 billion.
Among the other holdovers, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel held the best. The mini-Avengers (budget $10 million) has now grossed $31 million domestically, and, per BoxOfficeMojo.com, more than $113 million worldwide.
In its third week, Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom cracked the Top 10, despite screening at fewer than 100 theaters.
Johnny Depp's Dark Shadows fell from the standings after a subpar four-week run. The 1970s-centric vampire tale hasn't come close to matching its $150 million budget domestically, and stands at about $194 million worldwide, per BoxOfficeMojo.com.
Outside of the Top 10, The Hunger Games broke $400 million domestically, and edged closer to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on the list of Hollywood's all-time domestic champs.
Elsewhere, Robert Pattinson's Bel Ami grossed $40,000 at 16 theaters, not good, but not bad considering the debuting period drama actually debuted last month as a video-on-demand title.
Here's a complete look at the weekend's top movies, per Friday-Sunday domestic estimates as reported by the studios and Exhibitor Relations:
- Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, $60.4 million
- Prometheus, $50 million
- Snow White and the Huntsman, $23 million
- Men in Black 3, $13.5 million
- The Avengers, $10.8 million
- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, $3.2 million
- What to Expect When You're Expecting, $2.7 million
- Battleship, $2.3 million
- The Dictator, $2.2 million
- Moonrise Kingdom, $1.6 million
(Originally posted at 8:31 a.m. on June 10, 2012.)