Weekend Box Office: 'The Lorax' Breaks Animation Record

A big shocker this box office weekend, as "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" surprised everyone by most likely setting a new record for a non-sequel animated feature opening. The Dr. Seuss adaptation blew by "Project X" to take the top spot with a huge $70.7 million.

If that number holds up for the Monday actuals, that would make "The Lorax" the highest-grossing non-sequel animated film for a first weekend. Guess all that obscene cross-promotion worked, huh?

Coming in behind "The Lorax" in second place was "Project X," the POV party movie from Warner Bros. The found-footage film grossed $20.8 million over its first weekend, a respectable number considering the movie has no recognizable stars in it.

"Act of Valor," the Navy SEAL flick that started out as a recruitment film, continued its run with another $13.7 million to bring its cume up to $45.2 million. That was followed by "Safe House," the surprise hit that passed $100 million this week to land at $108.2 million in its fourth weekend.

Brining up the rear in fifth place was "Tyler Perry's Good Deeds," which drew another $7 million to pull up to a cume of $25.7 million. Certainly not "Madea" numbers, but the film looks to be on a decent track.

1. "Dr. Seuss 9; The Lorax" - $70.7 million
2. "Project X" - $20.8 million
3. "Act of Valor" - $13.7 million ($45.2M)
4. "Safe House" - $7.2 million ($108.2M)
5. "Tyler Perry's Good Deeds" - $7 million ($25.7M)