娱乐英语新闻:"Brave" continues Pixar's power to top North America box office

LOS ANGELES, June 24 (Xinhua) -- Pixar and Disney's new release of animation did what its predecessors had achieved at box office. "Brave" easily beat "Madagascar 3" and "Vampire Hunter" with strong opening of 66.7 million U.S. dollars at the weekend.

The perfect performace gave Pixar its 13th consecutive number one debut as it remains one of the most consistent and enduring movie brands in box office history. The epic animation has received an A score on CinemaScore.

Internationally, the epic animation earned 13.5 million dollars this weekend internationally, bringing its global total to 80.2 million dollars.

The 3D fantasy adventure film, inspired by a folklore tradition from the Scottish Highlands, follows princess Merida, who embarks on a journey to reverse the curse on her family as a result of an evil spell unleashed by her rebellious act.

Scottish veteran composer Patrick Doyle's made the music for " Brave," which also features a plethora of Scottish voice talents such as Kelly Macdonald, Julie Walters and Billy Connolly, with Emma Thompson dubbing for Queen Elinor, the mother of Merida.

The Pixar films have been wildly successful earning 7.2 billion dollars theatrical worldwide since the first "Toy Story" film opened with 29.1 million dollars in 1995.

The second place is Paramount and Dreamworks' family-friendly animation "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," which continued to do strong business when entering its third week, earning 20.2 million dollars at the weekend, putting its U.S. and Canada total 157.4 million dollars.

The family favorite has already been a worldwide hit with more than 300 million dollars in ticket sales.

Another newcomer, Fox's "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," which debuted on Friday at 3,106 theaters, was the third with a soft opening of 16.5 million dollars at the weekend domestic box office.

The historic/horror fantasy, directed by Timur Bekmambetov, imagines the 16th U.S. president fighting creatures of the night that are plotting to take over the country, starring Benjamin Walker as Lincoln. The 70-million-budget film got poor review and an average C+ on CinemaScore.

Another Fox's film, the sci-fi horror Prometheus from acclaimed director Ridley Scott was the fourth with 10 million dollars at the weekend North America box office. It has crossed the 100- million-dollar mark domestically and finished the weekend with 108. 5 million dollar since its release on June 8. The film is expected to pass 260 million dollars worldwide by the end of the weekend.

Universal's "Snow White and the Huntsman" held at number five with 8.012 million dollars and North American total of over 137 million dollars in its fourth weekend.

This left Warner Bros. "Rock of Ages" starring superstar Tom Cruise to number six with 8 million and Sony's comedy "That's My Boy" to the seventh with 7.9 million in its second weekend of release.

Rounding up top ten movies at the box office at the weekend are: "The Avengers" (7.04 million dollars), "Men in Black 3" (5.6 million dollars)," and "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" (3.8 million dollars).