Adam Sandler and Tom Cruise, once bastions of box office glory, proved to be no match for the Zoo Crew of “Madagascar 3” as Paramount’s big top tentpole held on to the top spot for the second weekend-in-a-row earning $35.5 million in ticket sales. Making matters worse, even “Prometheus,” which dropped an alarming -60%, topped both “Rock of Ages” and “That’s My Boy” and finished runner-up for the second straight week.   

DreamWorks’ toon has now earned $120 million in 10 days of release and another $157 million overseas, for a rollicking, 10-day total of $277 million worldwide. For the time being, Afro-Circus is officially the greatest show on earth…sorry Cirque du Soleil. 

For sci-fi horror fans, a drop of -60% is nothing new, so “Prometheus” grossing $20.2 million in its second tour shouldn’t be seen as much of a surprise. Ridley Scott’s opus has now landed $88.8 million, which for an R-rated sci-fi/horror flick is outta this world.

“Rock of Ages” totally missed the beat, as Warner’s musical number discovered what 80’s angst was all about, debuting with just $15 million. Despite a virtuoso performance by Cruise as rock-out-with-your-codpiece-out, Stacee Jaxx, audiences didn’t come close to selling out arenas…or even intimate venues. Made for $75 million, this won’t go down in a blaze of glory as the summer’s biggest bomb, but will be considered a mild disappointment as fellow musicals “Hairspray” and “Mamma Mia” each opened the curtains with $27 million when they rolled out over the summer.   

For Sandler, debuting in fifth place certainly wasn’t the Father’s Day gift he expected. Heck, he may want to get a paternity test for his latest as “That’s My Boy” debuted even lower than 2000’s woeful “Little Nicky.” That deal-with-the-devil rolled out to just $16 million. Since then, The Sandman has routinely opened his laughers in the $30+ million range and topping out at $100+ million, becoming somewhat of a summer staple, but not so with his latest R-rated endeavor, which carried a $70 million price tag.

It’s mildly surprising that “The Hangover” crowd didn’t jump on board, as this was Sandler’s first real attempt to snag an “adult” audience. Oh well, back to drawing board. And by drawing board, of course, I mean sequels. If ya can’t beat ‘em, sequel ‘em. Sandler is already on the clock for the first sequel of his career (Yes, it’s that time) with “Grown Ups 2” set for release next summer. Hopefully, if that gets him back on track, we’ll finally see him and Tiger Woods tee off in “Happy Gilmore 2: Bogey Brothers Go Balls Deep.” That could do wonders for both their careers.   

“Snow White & the Huntsman” is showing some serious mettle as Universal’s fairy tale adaptation is certainly working towards that fairy tale ending. The PG-13 fantasy eased off just -40% in its third weekend, finding an additional $13.8 million in fourth place and now $122 million total.  

“The Avengers” is also holding mightily well, as it dropped just -21% with $8.8 million in its 7th smash weekend. Domestic total for the box office’s mightiest heroes is an astonishing $586 million. And the global domination is even more impressive: $1.419 billion!!!

In terms of per-theatre-average, Wes Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” still rules as his whimsical   romp grossed $12,254 per at 178 sites. The film finished in ninth place this weekend with $2.1 million and now $6.7 million total.

Toon on toon action is something that would make Roger Rabbit very excited, and next weekend Pixar’s “Brave” will shoot a flaming arrow into the heart of “Madagascar 3” as it will conquer multiplexes in 4,000+ camps. As per the usual, expect upwards of $65 million for Pixar’s first adventure featuring a heroine.  

America’s first vampire hunter, according to Fox, is “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” Am I the only one who is geeked up for this historical horror mashup?!? I think I might be. Could it be this summer’s “Jonah Hex?” Advertising has been slimmer than Slim Shady, and in just 3,000+ theatres, odds are they will be pretty dark, too: $19 million.

On the sunny side of life, Focus Features drops “Seeking a Friend For the End of the World” into 1,400+ theatres. Expect the Steve Carell comedy to kill it in terms of per-theatre-average and hit close to $10 million.