Disney, Denzel top weekend box office

The weekend box office was not only undeterred by the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, it was buoyed by it.

Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" opened strongly with $49.1 million and Robert Zemeckis' "Flight," starring Denzel Washington, soared to a $25 million debut, The Associated Press reports. Both opened above expectations, capitalizing on East Coast audiences looking for distraction amid the recovery from the storm.

"Wreck-It Ralph," a 3-D animated family film about a video game villain who tries to break free of his role, is the largest box-office opening ever for Walt Disney Animation, which has produced countless cartoon classics (though that doesn't include Disney's lucrative Pixar Animation).