The sequel to Madagascar was a with movie goers this past weekend.
There was no escaping the strength of “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” as it bowed domestically to an estimated $63.5 million from 4,056 theaters.
Family pic, from DreamWorks Animation and Paramount, narrowly scored the best opening of the year for an animated title, besting the $63 million for Disney-Pixar’s “Wall-E,” according to the preliminary results.
“Escape 2 Africa” — which also the saw the seventh best opening of all time for a toon — marked a rollicking start for the holiday box office. But the biggest surprise of the weekend was Universal’s Seann William Scott-Paul Rudd laffer “Role Models,” which grossed an estimated $19.3 million from 2,792 runs, according to Rentrak.
Most, including U, thought the raunchy R-rated comedy would gross $10 million-$12 million, given that the Weinstein Co.’s R-rated “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” debuted to $10 million the week before. The Kevin Smith pic held up well in its second week with $6.5 million.
The other new release of the weekend, “Soul Men,” was the odd man out. The MGM/Dimension Films comedy, starring Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac, underperformed in grossing an estimated $5.6 million from 2,044 runs to come in No. 6 for the sesh.
Among new specialty releases, Miramax’s Holocaust drama “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas,” based on John Boyne’s book, posted a per-screen average of $15,000 in grossing an estimated $225,000 from 17 theaters in eight markets.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” $63.5 million.
2. “Role Models,” $19.3 million.
3. “High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” $9.3 million.
4. “Changeling,” $7.3 million.
5. “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,” $6.5 million.
6. “Soul Men,” $5.6 million.
7. “Saw V,” $4.2 million.
8. “The Haunting of Molly Hartley,” $3.5 million.
9. “The Secret Life of Bees,” $3.1 million.
10. “Eagle Eye,” $2.6 million.
[Credit: Variety / Media By Numbers]