Cave-dwelling 'Croods' settle at top of US movie box office
LOS ANGELES, March 24 (Reuters) - Animated movie "The Croods," the story of a prehistoric family seeking a new home, debuted at the top of box office charts with $44.7 million in weekend ticket sales in the United States and Canada.
The 3D family film from "Shrek" and "Madagascar" creator Dreamworks Animation dethroned two-time champion "Oz the Great and Powerful," which slipped to third place. The Walt Disney Co prequel to "The Wizard of Oz" earned $22 million during its third weekend, according to studio estimates released on Sunday.
In between the two family films, thriller "Olympus Has Fallen" about a White House under terrorist attack took in $30.5 million from Friday through Sunday.
"The Croods" was produced by Dreamworks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox, a unit of News Corp . "Olympus Has Fallen" was released by privately held FilmDistrict.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Andrea Burzynski)
((lisa.richwine@thomsonreuters.com)(Follow me on Twitter @LARichwine)(1 213 955 6776)(Reuters Messaging: lisa.richwine.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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