A new animated contender enters the box office battle this weekend with the release of Despicable Me, which is set to open in just under 3,500 theaters.
The 3-D film is the first from Illumination Entertainment, which teamed up with distributor Universal on the project. Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud with Sergio Pablos directed the film, which features the voices of Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Rusell Brand, Julie Andrews, Will Arnett and Kristen Wiig.
Early reviews for the film are positive, with it earning a 74 rating on Metacritic.com and an 86 percent fresh score on RottenTomatoes.com.
Also new this week is the R-rated Predators, an update of the 1980s franchise produced by Robert Rodriguez and starring Adrian Brody, Topher Grace and Laurence Fishburne.
This weekend also could be another big one for holdovers The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Toy Story 3 and The Last Airbender.
