NEW YORK — "The Lego Movie" clicked with moviegoers, assembling an exceptional $69.1 million debut at the weekend box office.
The better-than-expected result made the Warner Bros. collaboration with the Danish toy company easily the biggest hit of the year so far. A sequel is already in development for the 3-D animated film, digitally drawn to mimic a world composed entirely of Lego bricks.
George Clooney's World War II caper "The Monuments Men" opened in second place with $22.7 million. Reviews have been weak for the based-on-a-true-story tale about the mission to retrieve artwork stolen by the Nazis. The Sony Pictures film was postponed from a Dec. 25 release.
Sliding to third was the cop comedy "Ride Along," with Kevin Hart and Ice Cube. After three straight weeks atop the box office, the Universal film earned $9.4 million.