Weekend Box Office: ‘Dolphin Tale’ Swims to the Top of the Chart

It was neck-and-neck for a while, but in the end, the family-friendly ‘Dolphin Tale’ bested the Brad Pitt baseball-saga, ‘Moneyball,’ to take the top-earning spot at the box office this weekend.

In the second week of release for both movies, ‘Dolphin Tale’ took in $14.2 million, while ‘Moneyball’ earned $12.5 million — but still has a $1 million edge in total overall revenue.

‘The Lion King 3D,’ which held the number one slot for the past two weeks, made $11 million and moved down to third, and new releases ’50/50′ and ‘Courageous’ each sold $8.8 million in tickets to round out the top five.

Here’s a list of the top 10 movies at the box office Friday through Sunday with estimated grosses, along with how much each movie has made since its release:

1. ‘Dolphin Tale’ – $14.2 million, $37.5 million total
2. ‘Moneyball’ – $12.5 million, $38.4 million total
3. ‘The Lion King 3D’ – $11 million, $79.6 million total
4. ’50/50′ – $8.8 million, new release
5. ‘Courageous’ – $8.8 million, new release
6. ‘Dream House’ – $8.2 million, new release
7. ‘Abduction’ – $5.6 million, $19.1 million total
8. ‘What’s Your Number?’ – $5.6 million, new release
9. ‘Contagion’ – $5 million, $64.7 million total
10. ‘Killer Elite’ – $4.8 million, $17.4 million total