Proving its pan-generational appeal, The Simpsons Movie scored the third-highest opening weekend ever for an animated film, pulling in just under $72 million at 3,922 theaters, ranking behind
only the last two Shrek installments. Needless to say, that was good for the top spot at the box office this past weekend. Last week’s two big debuts, I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry (notable only, it must be stressed, for Jessica Biel prancing about in her bra and underwear), and the buoyant musical Hairspray, fell to second and fourth place, respectively, ringing up $19.1 and $15.6 million.

Rounding out the top five were Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which tallied just over $17 million, and new release No Reservations, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart, which grossed $11.7 million. Fellow new release I Know Who Killed Me, meanwhile, fell on its sword of bad publicity swirling around star Lindsay Lohan; a late scratch in some rural areas, the movie opened in just over 1,300 theaters, and grossed only $3.4 million.

Among niche pics, Michael Moore’s Sicko — a look at the sorry state of health care in America, and its for-profit manipulation at the hands of corporations — stands on the verge of becoming
the fourth highest grossing documentary of all time, eclipsing the
$21.5 million grossed by Moore’s own Bowling for Columbine.