from The LA Times

‘SpongeBob’ cleans up at box office; ‘American Sniper’ slips to No. 2

"The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water"SpongeBob SquarePants with, from left, Squidward Tentacles, Sandy Cheeks and Mr. Krabs in a scene from “The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.” (Paramount Pictures)

By 

Sixteen years after SpongeBob SquarePants first appeared on television, the yellow animated character made a splash on the big screen this weekend with the release of “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water.”

The film opened to an estimated $56-million gross in the U.S. and Canada over the weekend, exceeding tracking projections and pushing “American Sniper” out of the top spot after its three-week reign there.

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