Fox's Ice Age pic was close behind in second place on Thursday collecting an estimated $11.1M, off 20% from its first day, lifting the two-day total to a healthy $24.9M. That's an impressive head start going into the Independence Day holiday weekend. The Wednesday-to-Sunday gross should end up in the vicinity of $70M, helped by 3D surcharges.

Johnny Depp and Christian Bale held steady in third place with the gangster drama Public Enemies which grossed an estimated $6.7M on Thursday in its second day in multiplexes. Dropping 19% from its solid opening day take, the Universal title has taken in $14.8M in its first two days heading into the holiday session when adult audiences will have extra leisure time. The five-day tally should end up in the area of $40M.

With three different moviegoing options for all audiences, ticket buyers could end up spending a whopping $180M or more on just the top three films over the five-day span. That would allow the frame to show a healthy gain over last year when Will Smith's Hancock led the way with $62.6M in three days and $103.9M over five days.

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