Weekend Box Office: Huge Weekend for 'Prometheus,' 'Hunger Games' Passes $400M

It would be nice to say that June started off with a bang, but really last weekend's offerings were a little underwhelming this second weekend, however, was impressive indeed, thanks in most part to "Prometheus" and "Madagascar 3."

"Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" took the top spot over the weekend, even though "Prometheus" originally had it beat on Friday. The animated threequel brought in $59.6 million over the weekend, putting it about on pace to match the second movie in the franchise (which opened to about $63 million).

That means that "Prometheus" followed up in second place, and drew $49.5 million. That's surprisingly good for the R-rated sci-fi thriller, which may have gotten a boost from having Ridley Scott as director and "Lost" creator Damon Lindelof as writer, not to mention the mysterious marketing campaign.

However, while "Prometheus" performed well and sat fairly well with critics, audiences were less receptive on the whole. Word of mouth might not be great for the movie, as some were expecting an action-packed movie similar to "Aliens," but instead got something much more contemplative.

Still, at a production budget of only about $125 million after tax breaks, "Prometheus" looks to be in good shape over the long run, even if it takes a sharp dive in its second weekend.

Following behind those two openers were three fairly strong holdovers: "Snow White and the Huntsman" with another $22 million and a cume of $98.5M, "Men in Black III" with $14.2 and $135.2M, and "The Avengers" with another $11.2 million to land at $572.3M domestic.

Also notable this week was "The Hunger Games," which will pass the $400 million mark at some point today. That makes it the second movie this year to do so ("The Avengers" has already gotten there, as previously noted) and could mean that three movies will break $400 million domestic this year for the first time ever.

1. "Madagascar 3" - $59.6 million
2. "Prometheus" - $49.5 million
3. "Snow White and the Huntsman" - $22 million ($98.5M)
4. "Men in Black III" - $14.2 million ($135.2M)
5. "The Avengers" - $11.2 million ($572.3M)