Prometheus Fails to Steal Madagascar's Fire

Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

took the box office crown this weekend, overcoming competition from Ridley Scott's space epic Prometheus in the film's opening frame, according to numbers available at Box Office Mojo. The film came in at just under the opening weekend for Madagascar 2, but considering the recent spate of disappointing kid-oriented sequels like Kung-Fu Panda 2 it managed pretty well. A film that was attended heavily by women and children, and which leaned heavily on 3D screenings to bolster its numbers, Madagascar 3 scored strong, positive responses from the audience and a 76% score on Rotten Tomatoes, somewhat better than Prometheus' 74%. Prometheus made $50 million this weekend, second to Madagascar 3's $60.35 million, according to the popular box office tracking site. With tickets sales that were roughly on par with Alien Vs. Predator--but higher ticket prices--Prometheus set a new benchmark for Ridley Scott's Alien franchise and became the famed director's second-highest opening of all time (behind Hannibal, the 2001 sequel to The Silence of the Lambs which spawned a TV spinoff debuting in the fall). Prometheus also managed to take home the 12th-highest opening ever for an R-rated film, which Box Office Mojo points out puts it close to on par with films like 300, Watchmen and Wanted. Following the pair were Snow White and the Huntsman, last week's #1 film which dropped nearly 60% to take in $23 million; and Men in Black 3, which made $13.5 million. Rounding out the top five was The Avengers, which took in slightly less than $11 million.