The Princess and the Frog: Big Opening Weekend at the Box Office

Disney's new animated feature 'The Princess and the Frog' was tops at the box office over the weekend.

The new film, which opened nationwide Dec. 11, brought in close to $25 million at the domestic box office, making it the highest-grossing start ever for an animated movie in December.

According to studio estimates, its worldwide total is currently $32 million.

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A new take on the Grimm Brothers' classic fairy tale about a prince turned into a frog, with the princess becoming the amphibian., 'Princess' features the voices of Tony Award winning actress Anika Noni Rose as Princess Tiana. The film, which takes place in New Orleans during the Jazz Age, is written and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, who together worked their magic on 'Aladdin' and 'The Little Mermaid.'

The musical, which also features the voices of Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, Jenifer Lewis and Keith David, is Disney's first hand-drawn animated tale in five years – a departure to the computer-animated films that now dominate the animation industry.

Princess Tiana is making headlines as Disney's first African-American princess, but according to a spokesperson, she is also making history as the first American-born princess. Other notable "princess" characters – Snow White, Mulan, Cinderella – do not have native American birthplaces. Tiana does.

Other top earners over the weekend include the feel-good Sandra Bullock drama 'The Blind Side' ($15.4 million), Morgan Freeman's critically-acclaimed Nelson Mandela-inspired flick 'Invictus' ($9 million), the sensational vampire sequel 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' ($8 million) and Disney' other big animated movie of the season, 'A Christmas Carol' ($6,8 million).