The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie opened in the #2 slot last weekend, at $33.5 million from 3,212 theaters.  That topped the previous open for a Nickelodeon movie, The Rugrats Movie at $27.3 million in 1998. 

 

And the movie did not just appeal to kids, but also to the older demographic that shops in pop culture stores.  Paramount's Wayne Llewellen told Variety that 42% of SpongeBob's attendees were from the 'non-family' category (that's unaccompanied teens and adults without kids).

 

The PG-rated SpongeBob features some well-known talent in voice acting roles (including Alec Baldwin, Scarlett Johansson, and Jeffrey Tambor), and a guest appearance by David Hasselhof.   

 

National Treasure, with Nicolas Cage, opened in the #1 slot at $35.3 million, and The Incredibles came in third at $26.8 million for a $177 million cumulative total.