The 3D event pic -- receiving an A CinemaScore in North America -- is Pixar's 13th film and its first to feature a female lead. Brave did skew female (57 percent) but got plenty of male attention.
"You have to draw men and boys as well to see this number," Disney executive president of worldwide distribution Dave Hollis said. "The themes in the movie -- bravery, fighting for your fate -- transcend gender."
Hollis credited Pixar/Disney animation chief John Lasseter, producer Katherine Sarafian and directors Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman for delivering an "enveloping experience" that drew both families (66 percent) and adults.
One troubling statistic: 3D revenue only made up 34 percent of the Brave's opening gross, furthering worries that families find the upcharge for a 3D ticket too expensive.
Still, family product ruled the box office all the way around. DreamWorks Animation and Paramount holdover Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted fell to No. 2 in its third weekend with an estimated $20.2 million for a domestic cume of roughly $157.6 million. The threequel opened to $60.1 million.
Animation also ruled overseas, where Madagascar 3 stayed at No. 1 for the third weekend in a row, grossing $30.1 million from 44 markets to race past the $200 million mark. The pic has now earned $208.4 million internationally for an impressive worldwide total of $366 million.
Managing only a third-place domestic finish was Fox's 3D genre epic Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. The R-rated film, playing like a horror title, grossed a soft $16.5 million in its opening. Fox had predicted a debut in the $15 million range, considering there are no big stars in the film, but box-office observers believed it could get to $20 million.
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov and featuring Tim Burton in the producer's seat, Abraham Lincoln received a C+ CinemaScore. The pic's cast is led by Benjamin Walker.
Abraham Lincoln, costing $68 million to produce, features the storied U.S. president as a vampire hunter and is based on the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith, who also co-wrote the adapted screenplay. The film is an important test for the "mashup" genre, with Lionsgate queued up to make the film adaptation of Grahame-Smith's book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
Fox believes Abraham Lincoln, which skewed male, will have good legs.
"Audiences will continue to seek out Timur's daring and brilliant vision of Abraham Lincoln," Fox's incoming president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson said.
The news wasn't good for the Steve Carell-Keira Knightley indie pic Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, which debuted to $3.8 million from 1,625 locations. The Focus Features title, directed and written by Lorene Scafaria, came in at No. 10, just ahead of fellow Focus pic Moonrise Kingdom, which grossed a pleasing $3.4 million from only 395 theaters for a pleasing cume of $11.6 million.
"It's disappointing," Focus president of distribution Jack Foley said. "The right people turned up to see Seeking a Friend, but they didn't come in volume."
At the specialty box office, Woody Allen's new entry To Rome With Love got off to a strong start, grossing $379,371 from five theaters for a sizable location average of $75,874 -- easily the best of the weekend. Sony Pictures Classics, which distributed Allen's 2011 box-office hit Midnight in Paris, again is handling domestic distribution duties for the filmmaker.
Elsewhere, New Line and Warner Bros.' troubled musical Rock of Ages fell to No. 6 in its second weekend, grossing $8 million for a 10-day domestic cume of $28.8 million. Adam Sandler's likewise troubled comedy That's My Boy fell to No. 7 in its second outing, grossing $7.9 million for a 10-day total of $28.2 million.
Here are the full domestic results for the weekend of June 22-24:
Title/Weeks in release/Theater count, Studio/Three-day weekend total/Cume
1. Brave, 1/4,164, Disney/Pixar, $66.7 million.
2. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, 3/3,920, $20.2 million, $157.6 million.
3. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, 1/3,108, $16.5 million.
4. Prometheus, 3/2,862, $10 million, $108.5 million.
5. Snow White and the Huntsman, 4/2,919, $8 million, $137.1 million.
6. Rock of Ages, 2/3,470, $8 million, $28.8 million.
7. That's My Boy, 2/3,030, Sony, $7.9 million, $28.2 million.
8. The Avengers, 8/2,230, Disney/Marvel Studios, $7 million, $598.3 million.
9. Men in Black 3, 5/2,462, Sony, $5.6 million, $163.3 million.
10. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, 1/1,625, Focus, $3.8 million.
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