Photo finish as 'Transformers 2' edges 'Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs' with $42.3m weekend, July 3-5, 2009

After the fireworks cleared Sunday, final numbers put Paramount's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen just barely ahead of Fox's Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs for the top spot with $42.3 million over the July 4th weekend. Ice Age was a close second with $41.7 million, while Universal's period gangster pic Public Enemies finished solidly in third with $25.2 million.

With July 4th falling on a Saturday (causing Friday-to-Saturday sales to fall 36% across the board), Paramount's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen fell a steep 61% to $42.3 million, bringing its 12-day cume to a monstrous $293.5 million. The Michael Bay blockbuster surpassed Pixar's Up to become the highest grossing film of 2009 and now sits at No. 31 on the all-time list, just behind 1999's The Sixth Sense.

Internationally, the $200 million budgeted robot-destruction sequel has amassed $298 million, bringing its worldwide total to $591.4 million. The original Transformers took in $319m domestic and $708m worldwide back in 2007. Look for Revenge to blow past both numbers by the end of the month.

Fox/Bluesky Studios' computer-animated 3D feature Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs hauled in $41.7 million over the weekend and $66.7 million since its opening on Wednesday, tying Transformers 2 for the No. 1 slot. Averaging $10,171 in 4,099 theaters, the film fell short of the debut of its predecessor Ice Age: The Meltdown, which bowed with $68 million (over three days) in March 2006. By comparison, Pixar's Up debuted in May to $68.1 million over three-days.

Internationally, Fox execs were uncorking the champagne as Ice Age: Dawn Of The Dinosaurs hauled in $148m in 101 markets, posting the sixth biggest international launch and biggest international 3D opening in history. Adding North American totals, the sequel has now grossed an incredible $215 million worldwide. Ice Age: The Meltdown finished with $195.3 million domestic. Pixar's Up has grossed $264.9 million thus far, making the acclaimed pic the second highest grossing in Pixar history, surpassing 2004's The Incredibles with $261.4 million.

Johnny Depp's period gangster drama Public Enemies debuted in third with $25.2 million and $41 million over the five-day Wednesday-Sunday frame, averaging $7,850 in 3,334 theaters. The Universal debut was the biggest of director Michael Mann's career, surpassing both Collateral with $24.7m and Miami Vice with $25.7m.