'Brave' hits the bullseye as Pixar film is No 1 again

The story of an archery-ace, 10th-century Scottish princess who rebels against convention has topped the US box office, in the 13th-straight No 1 hit for Disney's animation studio, Pixar.

Brave took in $66.7m (£42.8m) in ticket sales on its opening weekend, defying predictions that the first Pixar movie with a female protagonist might fail to live up to predecessors like Up, Wall-E and Finding Nemo.

The movie, which is released in the UK in August, features an all-star cast of voices, including the Scottish actors Billy Connolly and Robbie Coltrane. Pixar films have unfailingly debuted at No 1 in the US since Toy Story ushered in a new standard of computer animation in 1995.