Many people have been quick to judge PIXAR to be in a slump. Saying that their last film, Cars 2, was horrible and Brave is just mediocre. I have a feeling that sentiment will erode over time, when people look back and see that Mars Needs Moms received reviews more or less the same as Cars 2, people will realize they might have been too quick declare PIXAR’s creative death.

This, however, is a nuts and bolts box office report, so the most important thing is that Brave has brought in PIXAR’s 13th strait number one opening. A staggering string of success that shows no sign of letting up in the near future. Brave‘s $66+ Million opening weekend is pretty par for the course for a PIXAR film.

Coming in second place is Madagascar 3, cooling off from back to back number one weekends with a cool $20 Million. This good hold comes as a bit of a surprise with the seeming direct completion from the new PIXAR film. The sequel seems to have strong enough word of mouth to potentially make this the most successful Madagascar yet. 

Traditionally the long Memorial Day weekend marked the start of the Summer movie season. In the last decade that unofficial date has shifted to the beginning of May, but this is still a marquee weekend for film. And what better way to celebrate that than with the return of one of cinema’s biggest stars.

Will Smith hasn’t been in a movie in nearly four years, and his return also marks the return of one of his most beloved characters, Agent J. Men in Black III had a solid debut bringing in $70 Million over the four-day weekend. That comes in a bit below expectations, but ranks as a strong debut none-the-less considering where the franchise was.

While not an actual reboot, the sequel actually proves that the Men in Black universe is still capable of being an entertaining summer destination. The movie also did well overseas, but only doing well is not what Sony was hoping for. If this franchise makes its way to a fourth installment positive word of mouth is going to have to give this film some legs.

Speaking of hot gams, The Avengers might have dropped to second place, but it still managed to impress. Bringing in over $46 Million over the extra long frame represented a very slight dip for the film. This was extra impressive when you consider Men in Black is direct competition for its target audience.