'Madagascar 3' Kick-starts The Movie Industry Fightback

Despite its stellar cast, including Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron and Noomi Rapace, Ridley Scott's 'Prometheus' failed to top the U.S. Box Office this weekend, after being thwarted by a group of cuddly animals. It was animated flick 'Madagascar 3' that pulled away from the sci-fi movie to top the box office with takings of around $60 million.

Though the film's creators will be celebrating a huge victory, it appears the real winner of the weekend was the American movie business itself. After a couple of rough months, it appears cinemagoers are ready to spend their hard-earned cash one again, and second place 'Prometheus' still took a very solid $50 million. Paul Dergarabedian, Hollywood.com's box-office analyst, said, "This was a huge weekend for the movie industry.. the animated Madagascar and the R-rated Prometheus leading the way, there was literally something for every age group at the theaters. And audiences responded". The solid numbers continued further down the list, with last week's No.1 'Snow White and the Huntsman' taking $23 million to finish third, and 'Men in Black 3' topping up its total with an extra $13.5 million in fourth. It's likely that the big numbers will continue this weekend, what with the release of Tom Cruise's new comedy musical 'Rock of Ages' opening nationwide. The Andy Samberg and Adam Sandler comedy 'That's My Boy' should also perform fairly well.

'Madagascar 3' was the obvious choice for families this weekend, though the movie actually boasts an impressive cast that includes Ben Stiller, Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett-Smith.