Madagascar & Role Models Launch Strong

November kicked off in a big way with three new movies in wide release, but only two doing better than expected. DreamWorks Animation's second movie of the year, the sequel Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, reunited the voice cast of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett Smith, David Schwimmer, Sacha Baron Cohen and Cedric the Entertainer, with their popular talking animals crash-landing in Central Africa. After grossing over $17 million on Friday, it brought in an estimated $63.5 million in business in more than 4,000 theaters, including a record 130 IMAX theaters. That amount would make it the highest grossing non-"Shrek" movie for the animation studio, making more in three days than the original Madagascar made over the four-day Memorial Day weekend back in 2005. The original Madagascar went on to gross $193 million, so one should expect the holidays should help the sequel gross more than $200 million, although it does have some fierce competition in weeks to come. 

Opening in a strong second place, the R-rated buddy comedy Role Models (Universal), starring Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott, brought in an estimated $19.2 million over the weekend in 2,792 theaters, an impressive per-site average of $6,900. It opened better than Rudd's last R-rated comedy Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and based on estimates, it would be Scott's highest non-"American Pie" opening, doing better than his previous Universal buddy comedy The Rundown with The Rock. 

Dropping to third place, Disney's High School Musical 3: Senior Year took in another $9.3 million to bring its total to $75.7 million after three weekends. 

Clint Eastwood's The Changeling (Universal), starring Angelina Jolie, remained in fourth place for a second weekend in a row with $7.3 million and a total gross of just $20.5 million. 

Over the weekend, it ended up ahead of Kevin Smith's Zack and Miri Make a Porno (The Weinstein Co.), starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks, which dropped from #2 to #5 for a second weekend take of $6.5 million, and a total of just under $21 million. 

Former Weinstein Company distribution partners MGM released the R-rated musical road comedy Soul Men (MGM/Dimension), starring Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac, but it tanked with just $5.6 million in 2,044 theaters, apparently losing much of the targeted African-American audience to the DreamWorks animated movie. 

Saw V (Lionsgate) dropped 57% in its third weekend to #7, adding $4.2 million to its total gross of $52.3 million, putting it just behind the previous installment at the same period of its run. 

In eighth place, indie horror-thriller The Haunting of Molly Hartley (Freestyle Releasing) had a strong second weekend, dropping three places but off just 35% from its opening weekend with $3.5 million and $10.2 million total. 

The top 10 grossed $125 million up 5% from the same weekend last year when Ridley Scott's American Gangster narrowly defeated DreamWorks' Bee Movie, $43 million to $38 million. 

In limited release, the Holocaust drama The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (Miramax) grossed $255 thousand in 17 theaters while Darren Bousman's horror opera Repo! The Genetic Opera grossed $51 thousand in 8 venues.