Family films dominated the box office this weekend, with 'Brave,' the latest film from Walt Disney Co.'s Pixar Animation Studios, capturing the top spot.

'Brave,' which features Pixar's first female heroine, the Scottish teenager Princess Merida, took in $66.7 million in its first weekend in theaters, a total that places it ahead of the openings of other Pixar movies including 'WALL-E' and both 'Cars' films, but behind 'Up' and 'Toy Story 3.'

The computer-animated movie opened on 4,164 screens, taking in an average of $16,028 per theater.

Following 'Brave' at the box office was another animated family film, 'Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted,' from DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. The movie, in its third week in theaters, grossed $20.2 million, bringing its cumulative domestic grosses to $157.6 million.

The two animated features were trailed by 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,' from News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox, in which the 16th president of the U.S. battles vampires who are attempting to take over the country.

The film earned $16.5 million in its opening weekend, coming in ahead of another Fox movie, 'Prometheus,' which took in $10 million in its third week in theaters. Cumulative domestic grosses for 'Prometheus' now stand at $108.5 million. (News Corp. also owns The Wall Street Journal.)

'Snow White and the Huntsman,' from Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures, continued a slow burn at the box office, earning $8 million in its fourth week in theaters, bringing its cumulative domestic grosses to $137.1 million.

'Snow White' was followed by two films that suffered soft openings last weekend, 'Rock of Ages' and 'That's My Boy.'

'Rock of Ages,' the Broadway jukebox musical-turned-movie featuring Tom Cruise, took in $8 million, bringing its cumulative domestic grosses to $28.8 million, while the Adam Sandler vehicle 'That's My Boy' earned $7.9 million, bringing its cumulative domestic total to $28.2 million.