Box Office Report: 'Transformers 2' and 'Ice Age 3' tie for first place...sorta

Talk about a photo finish. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs reached the end of the July 4 weekend effectively tied for the three-day weekend box office crown, with both films taking in $42.5 million, according to early estimates by Hollywood.com Box Office. Those numbers will undoubtedly change once final figures are announced on Monday -- except that, really, Manny the Woolly Mammoth has most likely already taken this fight.

We all know that when school's out for the summer, there really isn't such a thing as a "weekend" when it comes to movies aimed at the kids. To wit: Although its three-day opening weekend is the lowest ever for the Ice Age franchise, Ice Age 3's estimated five-day opening gross stands at $67.5 million. In the same five-day period, Transformers 2 took in an estimated $64.9 million, a clear second place. Still, Optimus is no slouch; with $293.4 million in the bank, Transformers 2 is easily the highest grossing movie of 2009 -- if no longer on track to match last year's The Dark Knight, which had raked in $334 million at the same point in its run.
Johnny Depp, meanwhile, may not have had the box office-melting power of Capt. Jack Sparrow in his corner, but as famed bank robber John Dillinger, he still managed to help lift Public Enemies past decidedly mixed reviews to a highly respectable $26.1 million for the three-day weekend and a $41 million five-day total. As fans of adult dramas everywhere breathe a huge sigh of relief, the next test for the gangster picture will be overcoming muted word-of-mouth; it bagged just a "B" CinemaScore rating.

The Proposal landed at fourth with $12.8 million, an impressive 31% drop from the week before, bringing the romcom to $94.2 million. The Hangover continues to hang on, netting $10.4 million for fifth place and passing the $200 million threshold in its fifth week of release. Finally, Up may have lost its temporary title of 2009's top grosser, but with a $6.6 million weekend lifting its total to $264 million, the winsome adventure rose past The Incredibles to become Pixar's second-highest grossing movie ever, behind only Finding Nemo. Not bad for a geriatric widower, huh?