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"Mr. Peabody & Sherman," which features the talking dog Mr. Peabody and his adopted boy, Sherman, exceeded studio 20th Century Fox's expectations for an opening from about $25 million to $30 million.

"With nostalgia in play, this film was geared toward both adults beyond the traditional family film audience, while introducing the characters of Sherman and Mr. Peabody to a new generation of kids who had never seen them," said Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution for Fox.

Aronson said he expected to film to continue to perform well in the coming weeks, noting "there's not an animated film for another month, and with spring holidays approaching we're in a really good place."

The movie was directed by Rob Minkoff, who also directed the 1994 animated film "The Lion King." That film was nominated for four Academy Awards and won two Oscars for its music.

Minkoff's earlier Walt Disney Co film collected $987.5 million in worldwide ticket sales, the second most for an animated film after "Frozen," according to the website Box Office Mojo.

"The Grand Budapest Hotel," Wes Anderson's whimsical caper film starring Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson, set the box office on fire over the weekend in a limited opening at only four movie theaters, taking in $800,000.

The $200,000 per screen average over three days for the Fox Searchlight film set a per location record, according to box office tracking firm Rentrak.

"The Lego Movie," took the No. 4 overall spot with $11 million, according to Rentrak. The animated hit based on the colorful plastic building blocks has now totaled $225 million since its February 7 release.

Rounding out the top five, "Son of God," based on "The Bible" television mini-series produced by "Survivor" producer Mark Burnett and his wife, Roma Downey, collected sales of $10 million.

Warner Brothers, a unit of Time Warner, distributed "300: Rise of an Empire" and "The Lego Movie."

Comcast's Universal Pictures released "Non-Stop." Fox, a unit of Twenty-First Century Fox, distributed "Son of God," and "Mr. Peabody & Sherman."