Weekend Box Office: 'Dolphin Tale' Ousts 'Lion King 3D' in Switcheroo

Family-friendly films dominated the box office this weekend, while the newer, more adult fare languished. Some notable (and widely advertised) new movies didn't even break the top five, what with three big kid-friendly performers at the top of the list.

In first place was "Dolphin Tale," jumping "The Lion King 3D" which had taken the top spot for the last two weeks. "Dolphin Tale" pulled in $14.2 million for a cume of about $37.5 million over two weekends.

But "Dolphin Tale" wasn't the only film to leapfrog "Lion King" this weekend: "Moneyball" also passed the animated flick, earning $12.5 million in its second weekend, following an upset last weekend in which "Lion King" placed above the baseball movie.

So, "The Lion King 3D" ended up in third place with a solid $11.1 million, bringing the cume for this second run to $79.6 million, an excellent showing for the re-release.

Of the new movies released this weekend, only two managed to crack the top five. "50/50" was one of them, as the Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen starrer pulled in $8.9 million to land in fourth place. Though that's not a huge showing, the movie (which centers on a young man with cancer) wasn't expected to pull in the big bucks. However, the film has received rave reviews and should hold over well.

The faith-based "Courageous" was the only new film to exceed expectation, pulling in about $8.8 million. When the Monday actuals come out, we might find that "Courageous" actually placed ahead of "50/50." The movie, with its religious themes, was heavily promoted among church groups and enjoyed a strong first weekend due to pre-sales and group outings from said churches. The movie was made for just $2 million, so it easily made back its budget in the first weekend.

The other new openers this weekend, horror flick "Dream House" and rom-com "What's Your Number," ended up in sixth and eighth place with $8.2M and $5.6M respectively. That's an especially disappointing showing for the Anna Faris/Chris Evans rom-com, which had a big ad campaign that apparently didn't do much to fill seats.

1. "Dolphin Tale" - $14.2 million
2. "Moneyball" - $12.5 million
3. "The Lion King 3D" - $11.1 million
4. "50/50" - $8.9 million
5. "Courageous" - $8.85 million