The animated film, which features the voice of multiple Tony winner Angela Lansbury, among others, earned $18,490,000 during the Jan. 13-15 weekend.
The music-filled "Joyful Noise," which boasts Newsies star Jeremy Jordan in his feature-film debut, was the fourth highest-grossing film, taking in $11,345,000 at the weekend box office.
Steven Spielberg's "War Horse" brought in $5,607,000 during its fourth week in release.
The highest grossing film of the weekend was Universal's "Contraband," which earned $24,100,000. Others in the top 10 included "Mission: Impossible -- Ghost Protocol," "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," "The Devil Inside," "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," "Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked" and "The Iron Lady."