The Weekend Box Office: Pixar's 'Brave' Makes Huge Debut

In this weekend’s box office results, the theaters were filled once again due to the magic of Disney’s Pixar, as Brave made its debut at number one. This marks the thirteenth time in a row that a Pixar movie has debuted at number one, an impressive streak that dates back to the original Toy Story. Two other high-profile films also made their debuts this weekend, though neither of them made a huge splash, as Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World both performed below studio expectations. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World was especially disappointing, finishing in tenth place with just over $3.8 million despite the star power of Steve Carell and Keira Knightley.

Hit the jump to see a full rundown of this past weekend’s box office results.

Brave, the story of a young Scottish princess’s quest to change her fate, finished on top with $66.3 million. The film’s total is on par with Pixar’s last film Cars 2 and ahead of notable releases like Wall-E. This is the first time a Pixar film has starred a female protagonist, proving that Pixar can craft a story that can appeal to all ages and genders. While Brave is one of the weaker reviewed Pixar releases, user reviews and word-of-mouth have been overwhelmingly positive.

Last week’s number one, Dreamwork’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, finished in second this week with $19.7 million. The film held the top spot for two weeks, though Madagascar 3‘s 42 percent drop and the aforementioned Disney Pixar juggernaut kept it from a third week on top. The animated film has made $157 million domestically, well beyond that of the previous films in the franchise.

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter debuted in third place with $16.3 million. While the film did underperform slightly, Vampire Hunter‘s weekend gross is actually a moderate success considering the competition and the film’s modest $69 million budget, which was less than the budgets for both of the animated films to finish above it this weekend.

Sony Pictures had two films finish in the top ten this weekend despite the lack of a new release. Last weekend’s Adam Sandler comedy That’s My Boy finished in seventh place this weekend with $7.6 million and box office success Men in Black 3 finished with $5.7 million at ninth place. MIB3 has made $163 million domestically.

The last new debut to finish in the top ten, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, finished with $3.8 million. Despite star power and a unique premise, the romantic comedy was a huge letdown for Focus Feature films. The top heavy box office was probably the main reason for the film’s lackluster performance, though the film hasn’t had a strong marketing push, with ads appearing more prominently only within the last week or two.

With no new Sony Pictures releases coming this weekend, look for The Amazing Spider-Man to make a huge box office splash when it releases July 3.

Domestic Box Office Top Five:

1. Brave ($66.3 million)

2. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted ($19.7 million)

3. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter ($16.3 million)

4. Prometheus ($9.9 million)

5. Snow White and the Huntsman ($8.0 million)

[via Box Office Mojo]