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Movie Monday: Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2

 If there’s anything we’ve learned from the movie industry, it’s that you can’t ever have too many animated films predicated on dangerous foodstuffs.

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 followed its predecessor’s example and rolled all the way to the top of the box office. The parmesan cheese on top of this lucrative mound of entertainment spaghetti? An estimated $35 million, more than tripling the take of its nearest competitor. It also earned about $5 million more than the original Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs did in 2009—albeit in about 900 more theaters.

Prisoners, last week’s champion, couldn’t match Meatballs‘ saucy goodness. It earned $11.3 million—certainly nothing to sneeze at, but only strong enough for a second-place finish. Still, it did beat the racing drama Rush, which opened wide this week and finished under the checkered flag with $10.3 million.

Rush sped past a pair of well-intentioned but problematic newcomers, which finished in a near deadheat for fourth place. Estimates slot Baggage Claim, a PG-13 romcom, into the No. 4 position with $9.3 million. Don Jon, a fairly pornographic anti-porn movie, collected $9 mil for fifth.

Will Meatballs remain on the top of the heap come next week? Or will it be pulled down by a little Gravity and roll out the door? By this time next week, we should know.

Final figures update: 1. Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, $34 million; 2. Prisoners, $10.9 million; 3. Rush, $10 million; 4. Baggage Claim, $9 million; 5. Don Jon, $8.7 million.