'Lego Movie' snaps into place with $69.1m debut

NEW YORK: "The Lego Movie" snapped into place for moviegoers with a $69.1 million debut. The strong opening was the biggest yet of 2014 and assured Warner Bros. of a new animated franchise devoted to the interlocking toy bricks.

Also debuting over the weekend was George Clooney's "The Monuments Men," about Allied forces' effort to rescue artworks taken by the Nazis in World War II. It earned $22 million, according to final box office figures Monday.

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak, are:

1. "The Lego Movie," Warner Bros., $69,050,279, 3,775 locations, $18,291 average, $69,050,279, 1 week.

2. "The Monuments Men," Sony, $22,003,433, 3,083 locations, $7,137 average, $22,003,433, 1 week.

3. "Ride Along," Universal, $9,589,940, 2,800 locations, $3,425 average, $105,312,530, 4 weeks.

4. "Frozen," Disney, $6,872,811, 2,460 locations, $2,794 average, $368,637,437, 12 weeks.

5. "Lone Survivor," Universal, $5,565,860, 2,869 locations, $1,940 average, $112,852,146, 7 weeks.

6. "That Awkward Moment," Focus Features, $5,237,186, 2,809 locations, $1,864 average, $16,545,221, 2 weeks.

7. "Vampire Academy," The Weinstein Company, $3,921,742, 2,676 locations, $1,466 average, $3,921,742, 1 week.

8. "The Nut Job," Open Road, $3,753,080, 3,004 locations, $1,249 average, $55,025,744, 4 weeks.

9. "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit," Paramount, $3,531,287, 2,139 locations, $1,651 average, $44,400,702, 4 weeks.

10. "Labor Day," Paramount, $3,184,785, 2,584 locations, $1,233 average, $10,127,181, 2 weeks.

11. "American Hustle," Sony, $3,068,641, 1,640 locations, $1,871 average, $138,085,721, 9 weeks.

12. "The Wolf Of Wall Street," Paramount, $2,582,764, 1,167 locations, $2,213 average, $107,896,588, 7 weeks.

13. "Gravity," Warner Bros., $1,671,437, 701 locations, $2,384 average, $266,474,237, 19 weeks.

14. "August: Osage County," The Weinstein Company, $1,481,391, 1,327 locations, $1,116 average, $34,290,511, 7 weeks.

15. "I, Frankenstein," Lionsgate, $1,476,556, 1,427 locations, $1,035 average, $17,483,849, 3 weeks.

16. "12 Years A Slave," Fox Searchlight, $816,563, 678 locations, $1,204 average, $47,347,837, 17 weeks.

17. "Philomena," The Weinstein Company, $797,653, 504 locations, $1,583 average, $28,672,575, 12 weeks.

18. "Her," Warner Bros., $731,145, 457 locations, $1,600 average, $22,464,032, 8 weeks.

19. "Nebraska," Paramount, $703,207, 525 locations, $1,339 average, $14,943,275, 13 weeks.

20. "The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug," Warner Bros., $688,196, 537 locations, $1,282 average, $255,398,374, 9 weeks.