A 3D sci-fi epic written by Damon Lindelof and directed by Ridley Scott, complete with tie-in to the iconic Alien franchise — you'd think Prometheus would have easily taken the box office this weekend. And yes, it did well, but in the end, it couldn't keep up with Dreamworks' CGI talking animals in Madagascar 3.

Madagascar 3 won the weekend with $60 million, putting Prometheus in second place with $50 million. Not a bad draw for either.

In fact, it was a high-earning weekend overall: winners from the last two weekends, Snow White and the Hunstman and Men in Black III, continued to earn big numbers. On the whole, this weekend's box office is 30 percent higher than it was at the same time last year.

I suppose it's not a total surprise that the R-rated Prometheus didn't have quite the same appeal as family-friendly fare like Madagascar 3, but Scott's pseudo-prequel did at least start the weekend at the top. (Not so many kids attending midnight screenings of Madagascar 3, apparently.)

And we haven't talked about The Avengers in a while, which — at this point — feels like a blessing.

[Image via AP/Dreamworks Animation]