The family film always has the opportunity rise to the top and when that family film is a computer animated tale there is an even better chance that it will succeed at the box office. Besides hitting a wide range of demographics, it is, as a family film, much more likely to bring out the family as a whole, opposed to picking it apart with an R or PG-13 rating. Yes, none of this is new, but it does all apply to this week's big winner, Horton Hears a Who, which is based on the Dr. Seuss tale. The Jim Carrey and Steve Carell starring animated film has risen to the top of the pile with a healthy $45 million haul. To top it all off, the film is well worth checking out, it is funny, smart, and truly entertaining for the whole family.

In addition to Horton's success, two other new releases made their presence felt in the top ten this week. First up, Never Back Down, finishing third with $8.6 million. Not a bad haul for a film with a narrow band of appeal (primarily adolescent males). The film could have been fun, even though it had no chance of being good, if only the fights were good (but they aren't). It is the equivalent of Step Up 2 from earlier this year, only with fighting instead of dancing. Both films used the same formula, but the earlier film succeeded by infusing infectious energy into the dances, while Never Back Down settled for lame fights that wanted to be like real MMA fights, but just couldn't make the grade.

Slipping down to seventh place you will find Neil Marshall's latest creation, Doomsday. I truly felt the film was going to do better than the nearly $5 million that it got. It is a big overblown action film that should have played well to the masses. I saw it and loved it, but in retrospect I recognize that its cult-like appeal masquerading as the mainstream combined with its R rating was not going to allow it to garner big box office. Well, that and the fact that it plays like a greatest hits reel from a number of other, better, films.