Pixar’s ‘Up’ continues to soar at the movie box office

The allure of a family-friendly film over the course of a summer weekend brought smiles to audiences and studio executives alike, as Pixar’s animated “Up” took in a lofty $44.2 million, according to studio estimates from box office trackers Nielsen EDI.

The feel-good film about an older man and a young boy on an adventure in a floating house has earned $137 million in just ten days, scoring the number one position at the box office two weeks in a row.

Ticket buyers also chose “The Hangover”, the new comedy about a bunch of guys who wake up in a Vegas hotel suite after a wild bachelor party, only to find out things had gone terribly wrong. The film, which offers a cameo from boxer Mike Tyson, sang to the tune of $43.3 million, scoring a close second place on its debut weekend.

The Will Ferrell remake of the 1970’s television series “Land of the Lost” was lost in the crowd, opening to a weak $19.5 million, although still good for third place. The comedy features Ferrell as a scientist whose experiments with time vortexes throws him back to an alternate universe filled with early hominids and feisty dinosaurs. It has received drab reviews from critics.

“Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” was fourth with $14.7 million, and “Star Trek” followed with $8.4 million, for a total of $223 million since its premiere earlier this season. Final numbers are due late Monday.