'Zootopia' rules the box-office roost again with $50M

There's no scaring off Zootopia.

The animated animal comedy finished first at the box office for a second week in a row by pulling in $50 million and holding off the J.J. Abrams-produced thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane, according to studio estimates from comScore. The domestic total stands at $142.6 million after 10 days, and another $83.1 million internationally has run its worldwide tally to $431.3 million.

"Disney released a movie for families at the perfect time and they are definitely reaping the benefits of that," says comScore senior box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "The marketplace has spoken."

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Directed by first-time feature filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg, Cloverfield Lane snagged a decent haul of $25.2 million with its taut plot of a woman (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) trapped in an underground bunker and told there's been a chemical attack outside. While it scored a middling B- grade from audiences at CinemaScore, critics approved of the scare tactics: Lane has a 91% "fresh" rating on RottenTomatoes.com.

A great marketing campaign, solid social media, a mysterious concept, Abrams' name attached and a modest budget in the mid-teen millions make it "a profit-making machine for Paramount," says Dergarabedian, who added that Lane had an 8% uptick on Saturday. "Some of these movies that are very clever and very genre will drop big in their second day, but it went up, so that means audience are digging the film and talking about it."

The top five was rounded out by a trio of returning films: $10.8 million for the R-rated comic-book antihero Deadpool ($328.1 million total); $10.7 million for the Gerard Butler action film London Has Fallen ($38.9 million total); and $4.6 million for the Tina Fey war comedy Whiskey Tango Foxtrot ($14.6 million total).

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The ensemble romantic comedy The Perfect Match opened with $4.2 million, and even with Easter around the corner, the biblical drama The Young Messiah could only muster a mere $3.4 million in its debut. The tale of a 7-year-old Jesus took some heat for a whitewashed cast, yet earned an A- at CinemaScore and an above-average 63% RottenTomatoes score from critics.

"Faith-based movies tend to be very consistent performers, particularly at this time of the year," Dergarabedian says. "Maybe it'll get a nice boost Easter weekend, but there's almost too much inventory in terms of films in the marketplace. With this many wide-release debuts, it's hard to rise above the noise."

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The biggest first-week bomb, however, was The Brothers Grimsby with $3.2 million. Crowds gave the vulgar action comedy — starring Sacha Baron Cohen and Mark Strong as estranged brothers — a B+ at CinemaScore but critics weren't as kind (38% on Rotten Tomatoes). It ranked as Baron Cohen's worst opening to date.

"He's definitely an acquired taste and has a distinctive point of view," says Dergarabedian. "When you're trying to create films that are not necessarily cookie-cutter and really push the envelope, those are movies that down the road may be seen in a better light but sometimes are difficult to digest at first."

Final figures are expected Monday.