Proof that dancing lemurs and mafioso penguins are box office gold, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa surged to the forefront of the US box office this weekend, scooping an unexpected $63.5 million. Besting Wall.E’s debut by a mere $500,000 dollars, that makes Dreamworks’ animal extravaganza the biggest animated opening of 2008 (and the seventh biggest of all time, just in case you’re keeping count).
Taking advantage of the breathing room until the behemoth that is Bond hits US cinemas this Friday, Seann-William Scott and Paul Rudd’s potty-mouthed comedy, Role Models, took a surprising $19.3 million and nabbed second place. The High School Musical phenomenon, on the other hand, has started to wane, dropping to third place with $9.2 million with its third instalment, placing it just above Clint Eastwood’s Changeling and Kevin Smith’s latest, Zack And Miri Make A Porno, which held up well in its second week after a modest $10 million opening.
Samuel L Jackson’s Soul Men was the poor cousin among this week’s new entries, languishing in fifth place with a paltry $5.6 million. Of course none of that will matter next week as Quantum Of Solace will have finally hit Stateside screens and made what financial experts have forcast as approximately a bajillion dollars.