Gore Verbinski’s clever little green chameleon, voiced by Johnny Depp, is galloping toward bona fide blockbuster status — the animated feature Rango grossed an estimated $15.3 million in its third weekend of release, making its cumulative domestic box office total $92.6 million. And Rango is earning its money the old-fashioned way; unlike most family-friendly films in the past year, Rango, shot in glorious 2D, does not benefit from the higher ticket prices associated with 3D films.

The new release Limitless, starring Bradley Cooper, won the weekend with $19 million (or roughly half of what Rango earned on its debut weekend). Two other new releases, the legal thriller The Lincoln Lawyer and the sci-fi comedy Paul, grossed $13.4 million and $13.1 million, respectively, which placed them behind Rango and Aaron Eckhart’s Battle: Los Angeles in the weekend totals.

Overseas, Rango earned $20 million in 54 markets, bringing its foreign box office to a robust $73 million. Total worldwide box office to date is $165.6 million; well done!

The Zone thanks FANtasticJD for the box office report; you can read more on the Zone’s News & Views forum.