‘The Croods’ Tops Weekend Box Office With $44 Million

The animated comedy The Croods has topped the weekend box office.

DreamWorks’ latest family-friendly offering proved to be quite popular with moviegoers over the past three days. The film generated an estimated $44 million for the studio. The film also posted strong numbers overseas; the comedy’s foreign total is an estimated $62 million.

The $135 million feature follows the adventures of a prehistoric family as they embark on their very first road trip. Emma Stone, Ryan Reynolds, and Nicolas Cage star in the box office hit. 20th Century Fox is hoping the film will continue to entice families into theaters over the Easter holiday.

The Croods success at the box office is certainly a relief for the folks at DreamWorks Animation. The studio’s previous effort, Peter Ramsey’s Rise of the Guardians, was something of a disappointment for the studio. The film made around $100 million during its domestic run.

“This is a terrific opening. And with the spring holiday ahead of us, audiences will continue to seek this movie out. The next family movie isn’t until Memorial Day,” Fox’s Chris Aronson told NBC News.

Training Day director Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen proved to be an successful adult alternative to The Croods. The R-rated action flick managed to bring in around $30.5 million at the box office over the weekend.

The $70 million thriller explores what happens when a group of terrorists take over the White House. Gerard Butler stares as the Secret Service agent who is forced to contend with the situation. The movie boasts an all-star cast including Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, Dyan McDermott, Melissa Leo, and Ashley Judd.

The Tina Fey and Paul Rudd comedy Admission earned approximately $6.4 million over the past three days. Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers continued to post strong numbers; the movie made an additional $5 million at the box office.

The weekend’s top 10 has been included below.

1. The Croods – $44.7 million
2. Olympus Has Fallen – $30.5 million
3. Oz the Great and Powerful – $22 million
4. The Call – $8.7 million
5. Admission – $6.4 million
6. Spring Breakers – $5.4 million
7. The Incredible Burt Wonderstone – $4.3 million
8. Jack the Giant Slayer – $3 million
9. Identity Thief – $2.5 million
10. Snitch – $1.9 million

Did you catch any of the new releases in the theaters over the weekend?