LOS ANGELES - THE giant robots of 'Transformers' emerged on top in their weekend box office battle with the prehistoric stars of 'Ice Age: Return of the Dinosaurs,' final figures showed on Monday.
The hugely successful 'Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen' finished its second week in first place with US$42.3 million (S$61.5 million), boosting its overall earnings to US$293.4 million in only two weeks of release.
The kid-friendly 'Ice Age,' featuring the voices of Queen Latifah and Dennis Leary as prehistoric animals who discover a lost jungle inhabited by dinosaurs, took US$41.7 million in box office receipts over the three-day Independence Day weekend.
In third place was new release 'Public Enemies,' starring Johnny Depp as notorious US gangster John Dillinger, which pulled in US$25.3 million in its first week.
Meanwhile, fourth place went to 'The Proposal,' a romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock as a pushy boss who marries her assistant for a US visa. The light-hearted romp continued to draw audiences, taking in US$12.8 million in its third week in theatres.
'The Hangover,' a raucous comedy about the fallout from a Las Vegas bachelor party, came in fifth place with US$11.3 million dollars in this week, bringing its four-week total to US$205 million - a massive gain on its US$35 million budget.
Pixar's latest animated feature 'Up,' which tells the heartwarming story of a grumpy old man who finds adventure in Latin America, stayed strong into its sixth week in theatres for sixth place.
The hugely successful movie added another US$6.5 million, increasing its earnings to US$264.8 million.
In its second week in theatres 'My Sister's Keeper,' starring Cameron Diaz, slipped down in the rankings with box office receipts of US$5.8 million, claiming the seventh spot.
'The Taking of Pelham 123,' a remake of a classic 1974 movie about a subway hijacking, also fell one spot to eighth place, bringing in US$2.5 million in its fourth week in theatres.
Rounding out the top ten were 'Year One,' a comedy about prehistoric hunter-gatherers, in the ninth spot, earning US$2.3 million; and 'Night at the Museum: Battle at the Smithsonian' for 10th.
The sequel to 2006's 'Night at the Museum,' which stars Ben Stiller and Amy Adams, earned US$2 million, bringing its seven-week earnings to US$167.7 million. -- AFP