Box Office: 'Ted' steals 'Magic Mike's' tips for $54.1 million weekend win

Warner Bros. has some fun with "Ted" as both films dominate the weekend.

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R-rated films ruled the box office this weekend as both Seth McFarlane's "Ted" and Steven Soderbergh's "Magic Mike" had impressive debuts.

Taking the top spot was "Ted" with a very surprising $54.1 million three-day cume. Industry polling expected something in the $30 million plus range, but the buddy comedy about a grown man who still lives with his magical talking teddy bear hit a nerve with audiences and found over $20 million on Friday alone.  With an A- Cinemascore, "Ted" should continue to rake it in over the July 4th Holiday week and for weeks to come.  The Universal Pictures release won't have any serious competition in the laughs department until "The Watch" opens on July 27.

Also overperforming this weekend was "Magic Mike." Inspired by star Channing Tatum's short stint as a stripper, "Mike" took in an estimated $39.1 million over the weekend.  Warner Bros. did a superb job of marketing the film as a more sexually adventurous picture than it really is and that helped fuel a front-loaded $19.4 million Friday.  Unfortunately, the film dropped to $11 million on Saturday.  Neither the studio, Soderbergh or Tatum are complaining as the picture reportedly cost only $18 million.  After International box office is added to the overall tally, "Mike" should be a cash cow for all involved. 

Last week's champ, "Brave," fell to third place with another stellar $34 million three-day. Pixar's latest has made $131.6 million in just 10 days and should easily cross the $200 million mark later this month.

Debuting in fourth was Tyler Perry's "Madea's Witness Protection."  Lionsgate took a chance that a "Madea" film could gross more during the summer than Perry's traditional Spring and Fall release dates, but their experiment may have been inconclusive because of the surprising appeal of the competition.  Still, a $26.3 million opening is on par with the opening frame of the last "Madea" film, "Madea's Big Happy Family," which was released just 14 months ago.

"Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" continued its stellar run in fifth place as it found another $11.8 million and $180.2 million to date. By next Sunday it should surpass the first "Madagascar" to be the highest grossing installment in the franchise.

Among other new releases, DreamWorks Studios' "People Like Us" conjured up a dismal $4.3 million in 2,055 theaters.  Disney, which distributes DreamWorks' releases, may have miscalculated the appeal of this drama as counter programming during a busy summer frame.

On the other hand, Focus Features' "Moonrise Kingdom" expanded to 854 theaters and took in another $4.8 million for $18.4 million since debuting in limited release a little over a month ago.  It would be surprising if Wes Anderson's critically acclaimed drama didn't end up with over $30 million domestic when all is said and done. 

New movies debuting this week include "Amazing Spider-Man" on Tuesday and Oliver Stone's thriller "Savages" on Friday.

Final box office results are released on Monday. 

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Gregory Ellwood
Editor-in-Chief, Co-Founder

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With over a decade of experience in the movie industry, Ellwood survived working for two major studios and has written for Variety, MSN and the LA Times. A co-founder of HitFix, Ellwood spends his time relaxing hitting 3’s on the basketball court and following his beloved Clippers.