As expected, “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” topped
this weekend box office, by earning $63,500,000 in ticket sales after it opened
in 4,056 theaters.
The new sequel outranked its predecessor, “Madagascar”,
which was released in 2005 and earned only $47.2 million during its first three
days.
“Madagascar: Escape 2” managed to perform better than the
previous release from Dreamworks, “Kung Fu Panda”, which gained $60,239,130
during its opening weekend in June.
Following a flashback introduction that establishes some
future intrigue twists, as well as a swift recap of its prequel, “Madagascar:Escape
2 Africa” reprises the moments left behind by the 2005 hit.
Forced to embark on a hardly working plane (piloted by
several excessively self-assured penguins), the popular zoo squad is at last on
its way to the glam Manhattan
life. Nevertheless, there would be no “Escape 2 Africa” if our non-human
creatures did not get into trouble again. Therefore, the plane crashes in Africa.
Alex the Lion, voiced by Ben Stiller, Marty the Zebra (Chris
Rock), Melman the Giraffe (David Scwimmer), Gloria the Hippo (Jada Pinkett
Smith) and King Julien XIII the Ring-tailed Lemur (Sacha Baron Cohen) go
through a lot of happenings, out of which some are dull and some are brilliant.
Alex finds his dad (the late Bernie Mac), while the story starts to resemble
“The Lion King.” Bernie Mac’s performance suggests both tenderness and insight,
thus matching perfectly Ben Stiller’s crude modulation.
Most of the film’s humor is wide-ranging, but the script
swims between clichéd gags and extensive pleasantry, offering a more complex
touch with the help of more or less satirical moments.
“Role Models,” the new comedy directed by David Wain, has
gained the second spot in the box office with $19,251,000, while last weekend’s
number one “High School Musical 3: Senior Year” slipped to the third place with
only $9,293,000. However, so far, the musical comedy has earned $75,707,000,
way over its $11 million budget.
The Top 5 was rounded up by “Changeling” with $7,281,000 and
“Zack and Miri Make a Porno”, which earned $6,521,000.
In the international markets, the champion was the latest
James Bond sequel, "Quantum of Solace" which opened as number one in 57
territories and it held the first position for the second week in a row in Britain, France
and Sweden.
According to is distributor Columbia Pictures, "Quantum
of Solace" earned this weekend $106.5 million from 60 markets. "Quantum
of Solace" will arrive in North American theaters on Friday.
