Johnny Depp's gangster saga "Public Enemies" got off to a strong start at No. 3 with $26.2 million, a rare adult-oriented drama in a summer field dominated by effects-driven action movies. As with "Ice Age," Universal Pictures' $100 million release opened on Wednesday to get a foothold ahead of holiday distractions. Its five-day total stands at $41 million.

Both Fox and Universal declared themselves thrilled with the initial results. Comparisons with the first two "Ice Age" movies, released in 2002 and 2006, are difficult because they came out on Fridays in March. They eventually earned $176 million and $195 million domestically, respectively. The new film cost $90 million to make, said Fox.

Some question marks did surround director Michael Mann's "Public Enemies," in which Depp plays Depression-era bank robber John Dillinger, because moviegoers have opted for fantasy over serious dramas in recent months.

"Good news for people who like films about grown-ups. The genre is not dead," said Adam Fogelson, Universal's president of marketing and distribution.

"Transformers" has earned $293 million after 12 days of release in the United States and Canada, about $100 million more than its 2007 predecessor had earned in the same period. The sequel also surpassed Paramount's "Star Trek" ($250 million) to become the biggest movie of the year in the markets.

Paramount is a unit of Viacom Inc. Universal is a unit of General Electric Co's NBC Universal.