LOS ANGELES – The caveman comedy “The Croods” left an indelible mark on the wall, opening at No. 1 with $44.7 million, according to Sunday studio estimates.
The 3-D adventure from DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox features a voice cast including Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Catherine Keener. They play a prehistoric family encountering danger and strange new creatures when they’re forced to find a new cave.
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Opening strongly in second place with $30.5 million was “Olympus Has Fallen,” an action thriller from “Training Day” director Antoine Fuqua in which North Korean terrorists take over the White House. Gerard Butler, as a secret service agent, leads an all-star cast that includes Aaron Eckhart as the president, Morgan Freeman and Angela Bassett.
“The Croods” has now made $108 million worldwide, also opening this weekend in Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. In the United States, it’s the only game in town as far as animated films for the whole family, and it will continue to be so as kids head out for spring break over the next two weeks.
“It’s a terrific crowd-pleaser, it got an A CinemaScore and an A-plus with audiences under 18, which leads me to believe a lot of kids loved the movie,” said Anne Globe, chief marketing officer for DreamWorks Animation.
But this weekend’s haul is down 34 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when the juggernaut of “The Hunger Games” debuted. It made a whopping $152.5 million in its opening.
Among the other new films this weekend, the Tina Fey-Paul Rudd college comedy “Admission” from Focus Features opened in fifth place with just $6.4 million.
Minnie gets a new dress from Lanvin
CHESSY, France – Forever-young Minnie Mouse is growing up and moving on from her old red and white polka dots.
Lanvin has designed the loveable Disney rodent a new dress — a more mature frock in royal blue and long sleeves that she can wear at special events.
It was unveiled at a catwalk show in Disneyland Paris on Saturday evening.
Gone was the oversized hair bow that has been the signature of the character since she was created in 1928. In its place, the presentation showcased a smaller-sized red tiara alongside a thick, bejeweled hourglass gown with padded shoulders.
“Walt Disney was the one that actually designed Minnie. It’s the first time an actual designer has come into the picture and designed a dress for her,” Lanvin’s designer Alber Elbaz said.
Oscar-winner goes from ‘Moonrise’ to sleeper
NEW YORK – Actress Tilda Swinton is performing the art of sleeping at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art.
A museum spokeswoman says the “Moonrise Kingdom” star presented her one-person piece called “The Maybe” on Saturday.
In “The Maybe,” Swinton lies sleeping in a glass box for the day. The exhibit will move locations within the museum every time Swinton performs.
There is no published schedule for the piece, which will occur about a half-dozen more times through the end of the year.
Swinton first performed the piece at the Serpentine Gallery in London in 1995. In 1996, she performed it in the Museo Barracco in Rome.
She won an Oscar in 2008 for best supporting actress for her role in “Michael Clayton.”
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