'Lorax' Cleans Up At Box Office With $70.7M Debut

LOS ANGELES (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.

The 3-D animated family film from Universal Pictures, featuring the voices of Danny DeVito, Zac Efron and Taylor Swift, is based on Seuss' cautionary fable about the importance of preserving the environment. 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.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.