How did 'Monsters University' do at the weekend box office?

Well, guess what? Pixar has another hit on its hands. Certainly this isn't shocking news. Out of 14 Pixar movies total, all of them have debuted in the top spot at the weekend box office. Given that Monsters, Inc. is arguably one of Pixar's most popular and beloved films of all time, is it any wonder that the new prequel, Monsters University, drew incredible crowds to the theaters?

All total, Monsters University took in $82 million in its first weekend of release. That's right on par with what many industry insiders expected, and it's actually the second highest debut for a Pixar movie ever (behind Toy Story 3, which made $110 million).

What wasn't entirely expected? The massive box office take of the second place film, World War Z. The adaptation of Max Brooks' zombie war book made a whopping $66 million, despite having major production problems and getting decent, but not stellar, reviews. If you're interested, here's my "snap" review - I wasn't exactly thrilled.

This was a majorly successful weekend at the movies, with millions of us stepping out to see all sorts of summer blockbusters. All total, we plunked down $236 million. This wound up being the second biggest movie weekend of the year (behind Memorial Day). As we close in on late-June, I'm not at all surprised. This is one of those times when almost everyone can find something they want to see (except Before Midnight, that is *still* not playing here yet).

But brace yourself, because it gets bigger: The July 4th box office holiday weekend is a traditional powerhouse, and with new blockbusters opening every single weekend, the numbers will continue to swell.

The other films that made the top five at the box office this past weekend are, in order: Man of Steel ($41.2 million), This Is the End ($13 million) and Now You See Me ($7.9 million). Clearly we love our popcorn films, America!

Photo courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter