Box Office Report: 'Despicable Me 2' Sits Alone Atop The Box Office
By Bill Wine
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- An animated sequel led the way at multiplexes over the weekend.
It was a case of "me too," as the sequel "Despicable Me 2" made a splash at the box office, finishing first, just as the original did three years ago.
The animated sequel, which opened on Wednesday, earned an estimated $82-million on its first weekend, outdistancing its predecessor's initial weekend by over $20-million.
A distant second place belonged to another new attraction the western adventure, "The Lone Ranger," with Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer. It debuted with an opening weekend take of $29–million.
Third and fourth place were claimed by holdovers "The Heat" and "Monsters University," which totaled $25–million and $20–million, respectively.
The weekend's other new release was the comedy concert documentary, "Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain." It debuted with a total of $10-million, good for eighth place.
Overall, industry-wide totals were well ahead of last year's pace on the counterpart weekend.
