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Sony Pictures Animation surprisingly got top spot at the box office this week with its adaptation of the beloved 1978 children's book, "Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs." The first weekend revenues of about $30 million wasn't spectacular by itself, but it's still pretty remarkable for an underdog film -- and on a September, too.

September is usually a slow month in the movie business, sandwiched between the fiercely-competitive summer and holiday seasons. "Cloudy" managed to haul in a decent crowd, a good sign that Sony will break even in around three weeks. What's more, it outperformed several other highly-hyped movies.

Sony Pictures Animation has been struggling in the past several years trying to keep up with the industry leaders in animated films, Pixar and Dreamworks. Sony's first animated offering, "Open Season," was mediocre at best, while their second, "Surf's Up," was a box office disappointment.

"Cloudy," on the other hand, sees some clear skies up ahead. The story, only loosely based on the children's book, revolves around a passionate but unsuccessful inventor named Flint Lockwood (voiced by Year One's Bill Hader) who invents a device that turns water into food. After a mishap that launches the device into the atmosphere, his hunger-stricken town gets blessed by showers of hamburgers, hotdogs, pasta, ice cream, and other food items.

Other players in the story include perky weather news intern Sam Sparks (voiced by the "Scary Movies'" Anna Faris) and the evil town mayor (voiced by Bruce Campbell of "Evil Dead" fame). But perhaps the greatest scene stealer is Mr. T, who voices the overprotective cop Earl Devereaux.

All told, Sony may have its most successful animated film in "Cloudy." The funny thing about this week in the movies was that while "Cloudy" surprisingly did well, perhaps the most hyped-up offering -- "Jennifer's Body," starring Megan Fox -- did the worst, opening with a disappointing $5 million.

(I guess people really DID come to see the robots.)