BY PAULA SCHWARTZ

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

A funny thing happened at the box office this weekend when Paramount and DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted squared off with 20th Century Fox’s Prometheus. It looked like Prometheus would have the edge, but instead Madagascar 3 pulled ahead, earning $60.5 million to the sci-fi pic’s $50 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

Even Mojo predicted on Friday that it would be a close race between the two 3-D giants, but gave Prometheus the advantage. It seems they were wrong. Either audiences found the sci-fi thriller too confusing and not suspenseful enough, or families chose to go to the animated kiddies’ film instead this weekend.

Hanging tough in third place at the box office is Snow White and the Huntsman, which has earned a total of $98.5 million, with $23 million coming in this weekend; number four is Men in Black 3, which has earned $135.5 total and about $13.7 this weekend at the box office. Marvel’s The Avengers is truly a marvel in number four, having grossed total earnings of $571.8 million.

As for what’s ahead for the rest of June, the last two weekends are the most crowded this summer. According to Mojo, there are a total of seven releases on the schedule—more than May had for the whole month.