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Dr. Seuss' 'The Lorax' Cleans Up At Box Office With $70.7M Debut

LOS ANGELES (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Dr. Seuss' The Lorax had a bountiful box office opening, earning $70.7 million in its first weekend to score the biggest debut of the year.

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The Lorax is based on Seuss' cautionary fable about the importance of preserving the environment.

The 3-D animated family film from Universal Pictures features the voices of Danny DeVito, Zac Efron and Betty White. Also starring in a lead role is Taylor Swift.

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The country songstress recently made headlines in our area after asking a New Jersey boy battling leukemia to be her date to the American Country Music Awards.

Of its opening haul, $5.4 million, or 8 percent, came from IMAX screens, which is on the high side for a family film.

Coming in second place with a strong debut was the R-rated comedy "Project X," about a trio of high school misfits who throw a raging party in hopes of becoming popular. The Warner Bros. film made nearly $21 million.

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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