'Megamind' makes mega money

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Will Ferrell's plot to take over the weekend box office has succeeded.

Ferrell's animated super-villain comedy "Megamind" debuted as the No. 1 movie with $47.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Along with the voices of Brad Pitt, Tina Fey and Jonah Hill, the DreamWorks Animation release has Ferrell's title character hatching a scheme to fill the void in his life after he finally defeats his superhero nemesis.

Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis' road-trip comedy, "Due Date," opened at a strong No. 2 with $33.5 million. The Warner Bros. romp features the two stars as mismatched traveling companions who hit the highway from Atlanta to Los Angeles.

Tyler Perry's drama "For Colored Girls," whose ensemble cast features Janet Jackson and Whoopi Goldberg, premiered solidly in third-place with $20.1 million. The Lionsgate release is based on Ntozake Shange's play "for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf."

The previous weekend's No. 1 movie, Lionsgate's horror tale "Saw 3D," fell to No. 5 with $8.2 million, down a steep 66 percent from opening-weekend revenues.

While "Megamind" drew big family crowds on Saturday and Sunday, it also was the top draw on Friday, bringing in large numbers of adults without children, said Anne Globe, head of marketing for DreamWorks Animation.

"For us to be No. 1 on Friday, it showed we did have a lot of appeal to teens, tweens and the date crowd," Globe said.

The three newcomers combined for a $100 million haul, providing a big weekend for Hollywood, whose revenues have been lagging for most of the fall season.

Overall revenues came in at $155 million, up 29.5 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when "A Christmas Carol" led with $30.1 million, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

The weekend also provided an early jump on the holidays, when big releases include the latest in the "Harry Potter," "Meet the Parents" and "Chronicles of Narnia" franchises.