The dolphin as in Warner Brothers’ 3D family film ‘Dolphin Tale’ beat the lion as in the recycled Disney ‘Lion King’ to win this week’s box office race.  After debuting with $19.2 million last weekend, Dolphin Tale dropped just 27 percent to $14.2 million, followed by Brad Pitt’s baseball drama Moneyball with $12.5 million, and The Lion King 3D with $11.1 million.

1. Dolphin Tale – $14.2 mil
2. Moneyball – $12.5 mil
3. The Lion King 3D – $11.1 mil
4. 50/50 – $8.9 mil
5. Courageous – $8.8 mil
6. Dream House – $8.2 mil
7. Abduction – $5.7 mil
8. What’s Your Number? – $5.6 mil
9. Contagion – $5.0 mil
10. Killer Elite – $4.9 mil

In the specialty box office, the Sony Pictures Classics release, Jeff Nichols’ “Take Shelter” took the top spot, grossing $56,171 from its 3 debut screens, averaging $18,724. while another Sarah Palin Palin film, this time the unauthorized documentary Sarah Palin – You Betcha!, also bombed grossing only $7,400 in six theaters.

Other new specialty films included the much delayed, Fox Searchlight’s “Margaret” from director Kenneth Lonergan starring Anna Paquin and Matt Damon not doing well with a weak $7,496 from 2 screens in New York. Renaud Barret and Florent de La Tullaye’s documentary film “Benda Bilili!” released by National Geographic made just $1,722 from one theater.

Sergei Loznitsa’s “My Joy” grossed $2,800 on 1 screen in New York and Patrick Takaya Solomon’s “Finding Joe” grossed $9,571 on 1 screen in LA.