The villain in "Despicable Me" did more than just try to steal the moon: he helped the film score an impressive opening and land ahead of its rivals, final industry figures showed Monday.
Universal Pictures' first 3-D animated film made 56.4 million dollars in its first weekend in theaters, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations. The figure was about four million dollars less than Sunday's estimate of 60.1 million dollars.
Steve Carell, the main character in the hit TV series "The Office" lent his voice to Gru, the villain bent on snatching the moon. He starred alongside Julie Andrews, Russell Brand and Jason Segel.
Last week's top earner, vampire romance "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" came in second, with 31.7 million dollars.
Third place went to "Predators," an update of a 1987 sci-fi classic about CIA-hired commandos hunted in the Central American jungle by an alien predator. It earned 24.8 million dollars in its debut.
"Toy Story 3," which took fourth place with 21 million dollars in receipts, has racked up 339.2 million dollars over its four weeks in theaters.
A flick about beings endowed with powers to control air, earth, water and fire -- "The Last Airbender" -- was fifth with 16.6 million dollars.
In sixth place was "Grown Ups," the Adam Sandler and Chris Rock comedy about a reunion of high school friends, with 15.8 million dollars.
"Knight and Day," an action-comedy starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, earned 7.7 million dollars for the seventh spot.
"The Karate Kid," with 5.4 million dollars in receipts, landed in eighth place, while ninth went to the "The A-Team," a big screen remake of the 1980s television series about four rogue soldiers of fortune, which took in 1.8 million.
The offbeat romantic comedy "Cyrus" rounded out the top 10, with earnings of 1.3 million dollars.
Copyright 2010 AFP Global Edition
