"Ted" Is the New King of the Box Office

The bear is "Ted," Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane's comedy for Universal Pictures about a talking teddy bear, which opened as the No. 1 movie with $54.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

And the bulls are baring it in the Warner Bros. release "Magic Mike," Channing Tatum and Steven Soderbergh's male-stripper tale that debuted a strong No. 2 with $39.2 million.

The two new movies were backed by a deep bench, with Pixar Animation's Disney fairy tale "Brave" holding up well at No. 3 with $34 million in its second weekend. "Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection," the latest from the dependable breadwinner for Lionsgate Films, opened solidly at No. 4 with $26.4 million.

The four movies combined to keep Hollywood in the money compared to the same weekend last year, when "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" launched with $97.9 million.

The only one that didn't work among new wide releases was the sibling drama "People Like Us," which tanked at No. 10 with $4.3 million. A DreamWorks release distributed by Disney, the movie features Chris Pine (Captain Kirk of "Star Trek") as a man who gets himself into an awkward relationship with the half-sister (Elizabeth Banks) he never knew he had.

"Ted" stars Wahlberg as a guy whose stuffed bear magically came to life when he was a boy, the two growing up together to become slacker, party-boy roommates. Writer-director MacFarlane, the creator of TV's "Family Guy," provides the voice of the bear, while "Family Guy" voice co-star Mila Kunis plays Wahlberg's girlfriend.

The idea of a cuddly teddy bear combined with a foul mouth and MacFarlane's wicked sense of humor caught fire with audiences, who lifted "Ted" far beyond the opening of $35 million or less that Hollywood generally expected.

"In my heart of hearts, I just felt that everybody was starting to talk about this talking bear, and everyone loves Seth MacFarlane, people love his show," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "And the marketing campaign did a great job of telling people how fabulous this picture is for an R-rated audience."

"Magic Mike" also far outstripped industry expectations. The weekend was a rare instance where two R-rated movies opened at Nos. 1 and 2, and it followed another unusual weekend where two PG-rated movies ("Brave" and "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted") led the box office.

Directed by Soderbergh, "Magic Mike" is inspired by Tatum's early career as a male stripper and features him as a veteran dancer who takes a newcomer (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing.

The beefcake factor of Tatum, Pettyfer and co-star Matthew McConaughey strutting their stuff had women packing theaters in a way that distributor Warner Bros. had not seen since its "Sex and the City" flicks. Female fans made up 73 percent of the "Magic Mike" crowds.

"'Magic Mike' just didn't have the brand that 'Sex and the City' had for so many years," said Dan Fellman, Warner's head of distribution. "The fact that it performed in the same vein was a great surprise.

Filmmaker and star Perry's latest features outspoken Southerner Madea taking in a Wall Street guy (Eugene Levy) whose family is placed in witness protection.

Like "Ted" and "Magic Mike," "Madea's Witness Protection" did better than Hollywood anticipated. David Spitz, head of distribution for Lionsgate, said movie-going just seems to be in the air, especially considering the 100-degree heat gripping much of the nation.

"People don't want to be outside in a heat wave, so it's one of those weekends where benefited from the weather," Spitz said.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.