“Horton” continues to hear cha-ching

Audiences continued their love affair for the second straight week with the Dr. Seuss animated elephant movie “Horton Hears a Who!” for the weekend ending March 23, industry sources reported today. The film took in an estimated $25.1 million in its second week, generating a total of $86.5 million to date. Last week the Jim Carrey vehicle premiered as the fifth-largest G-rated opening ever.

Holding the next three top spots over the Easter weekend were all newly-released films. These include Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns” with $20 million; the horror film “Shutter,” which took in $10.7 million; and “Drillbit Taylor,” from some of the team responsible for last year’s hit “Superbad,” which came in a disappointing fourth place in $10.2 million. Rounding out the top five at the box office was the prehistoric adventure “10,000 B.C.,” which has grossed $76.1 since its premiere three weeks ago.

Last week’s top scorers — “Never Back Down,” an extreme-fighting film, “College Road Trip,” a Walt Disney Pictures comedy starring Martin Lawrence, and “Vantage Point,” a thriller from Sony, each fell from the top five. All numbers are estimates until actual weekend grosses can be determined.