Good Forward-Looking Indicator?

Today at lunch, a magazine editor said to me: "My kid's really anxious to see Madagascar II." So this story from MarketWatch might not be a fluke:

DreamWorks today announced that its highly anticipated sequel, "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" made box office history yesterday in both Russia and the Ukraine. The continuing saga of the Central Park Zoosters bowed in Russia to the biggest opening day ever for an American film and set the record for the biggest opening day of all time in the Ukraine ...

In Russia, the film opened on 841 screens, grossing $2.81 million. This record establishes "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" as the second biggest opening of all time in the country, besting all previous animated feature releases. In the Ukraine, the film opened on 92 screens to a gross of $396,000 ...

Okay, so $2.81 million isn't going to knock anybody on their keester, and $396,000 isn't totally overwhelming. But the first and second biggest openings in history? Those rollouts bode well, don't you think?

I'm betting that Madagascar Escape 2 Africa has a solid opening here in the S.S. of A. next week. And I'm hoping that there's plenty of room for Bolt in the animation marketplace when the Disney doggie bursts forth fourteen days later.

I'm funny that way.