PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – It was a closely contested race at the box office over the weekend as five movies, two holdovers and three new titles, competed for the attention of moviegoers, each breaking the $10 million mark but none breaking the $20 million mark.
 
When the smoke cleared, it was Limitless, the new pharmaceutical thriller starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro, that finished first earning an estimated $19 million in its debut.
 
Second place belonged to the returning animated attraction Rango with $15 million.
 
Last weekend’s leader, Battle: Los Angeles, fell to third with a total of $14 million in its second weekend of release.
 
The Matthew McConaughey vehicle, The Lincoln Lawyer, a legal thriller, took in $13 million, good for fourth.
 
Right behind it in a close fifth, also with $13 million, was Paul, the science fiction spoof.
 
Overall, March box office continues to be better than that of the previous two months, but also remains behind last year’s totals at the same point.

Reported by Bill Wine, KYW Newsradio