“Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa”, the new animated sequel distributed by Paramount, opened with an impressive $63.5 million take at the Box Office over the past weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The opening results significantly beat expectations, and even outperformed opening weekend for the original “Madagascar,” which earned $61 million in its opening over the 2005 Memorial Day weekend.
Universal’s new R-rated comedy “Role Models” finished second with a $19.3 million debut that also comfortably topped projections.
Overall, the weekend’s $148 million industrywide total represented a considerable 30% improvement over the same weekend last year, according to Nielsen EDI.
Below are Box Office totals for the weekend of November 7-9, 2008, from Nielsen EDI.
| RANK | FILM | STUDIO | WEEKEND | GROSS(MILLIONS) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa | PARAMOUNT | $63,106,589 | $63.1 |
| 2 | Role Models | UNIVERSAL | $19,167,085 | $19.2 |
| 3 | High School Musical 3: Senior Year | WALT DISNEY STUDIOS | $9,159,523 | $75.6 |
| 4 | Changeling | UNIVERSAL | $7,252,940 | $20.6 |
| 5 | Zack and Miri | THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY | $6,274,530 | $20.7 |
| 6 | Soul Men | MGM STUDIOS | $5,401,605 | $5.4 |
| 7 | Saw V | LIONSGATE | $4,067,071 | $52.2 |
| 8 | The Haunting of Molly Hartley | FREESTYLE RELEASING | $3,318,694 | $10.1 |
| 9 | The Secret Life of Bees | FOX SEARCHLIGHT | $3,089,467 | $29.9 |
| 10 | Eagle Eye | DREAMWORKS/PARAMOUNT | $2,541,602 | $96.3 |
| Source: The Hollywood Reporter / Nielsen EDI | ||||
