There was something for everybody at the box office over the weekend, with families heading out for DreamWorks/Paramount's Madagascar 3 Europe's Most Wanted and adult audiences bound for 20th Century Fox's Prometheus . And while Friday night drew big crowds for the Ridley Scott sci-fi epic, Saturday and Sunday belonged to the kids. The result was that Madagascar 3 wound up with an estimated $60.3 million, while Prometheus came away with about $50 million. Both films came in at the high end of industry forecasts. While IMAX screens accounted for 7 percent of the total number of screens showing Prometheus , they accounted for 18.2 percent of the movie's total gross. Meanwhile, last week's No.1 film, Universal's Snow White and the Huntsman , slipped to third place with $23 million, bringing its domestic gross just shy of $100 million. The third week of Sony's Men In Black 3 pulled in an additional $13.5 million for fourth place, while Disney/Marvel's The Avengers remained a potent force in its sixth week with $10.8 million. The solid performances of the top five films ‹ they accounted for more than 90 percent of the entire weekend box office ‹ helped lift business out of a surprising recent downturn. Receipts were up 29 percent from the comparable weekend a year ago, when Super 8  led with $35.5 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo 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.

11/06/2012