Memorial Day Weekend Box Office | featured news

While big-budget blockbusters were dueling it out at the multiplex this weekend, an independent film quietly made history at the box office. "Moonrise Kingdom,"Wes Anderson's quirky 1960s-set dramedy about two kids who run off into the wilderness, grossed $669,486 over the four-day Memorial Day holiday. But by Sunday, the film had already racked up a per-location average of $130,752 while playing in four theaters — the highest average ever for a non-animated film, said the film's distributor Focus Features. Previously, that record was held by 2006's "Dreamgirls," which debuted with an average of $126,317 at three cinemas.

The comic action heroes of "Men in Black 3" have taken over the weekend box office from the comic-book superheroes of "The Avengers." According to studio estimates Monday, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones' latest "Men in Black" installment debuted with $70 million domestically over the four-day Memorial Day weekend, which proved unusually quiet at theaters for Hollywood overall.

This past Memorial Day weekend broke box office records, but 3-D stumbled.

Hollywood has hustled up a hangover for the record books. "The Hangover Part II" set a new high for comedy debuts with $105.8 million over the long Memorial Day weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

With a significant drop for "Sex and the City" on Saturday and just mid-level earnings for "Prince of Persia," "Shrek Forever After" is on track to win what looks like the slowest Memorial Day holiday weekend at the box office in a decade.