Madagsacar 2 charges out of the box office gate at full gallop, picking up a very nice piece of change for its Friday opening, as animation's Christmas arrives early this year.
America's favorite zoo animals collect $17.5 million, tripling the take of second place Role Models, and leading even the jaded and cynical among us to admit to animation's allure and staying power.
It made $17.4 million Friday from a very wide release of 4,056 theaters for what should be close to a $60M first weekend. Yowza! That far exceeded the performance of the 2005 original, which opened to $47.2M for the three-day Memorial Weekend (and $60M for the four-day holiday) ... More and more, these pics are playing like a live action film than a traditional animated film where you get a normal Friday number, then a huge bump on Saturday. Madasgascar 2's success just goes to show that the strategy of making 90-minute toons is shrewd: not only can theaters get in a lot of screenings ...
The other frosh entry, Soul Men, landed at #6 on the Friday charts, as Jeffrey K.'s juggernaut ruled the box office roost.
In two weeks, we get to see how Bolt fares when it rolls out. Me, I'm hoping (praying) that there's ample room for two animated features in the marketplace, because that's good for our whole community.
Add On: Madagascar Deux obliterates the competition, taking in $63.5 million at the U.S. box office. (This weekend it is Jeffrey's world; we just live in it.)
Elsewhere in the Top Ten, the newcomers finishes second and sixth: Role Models took in a tidy $19,251,000, while Soul Men landed at the sixth spot, collecting $5.6 million.
High School Musical, Theatrical Edition dropped from #1 to #3 with a modest 39% decline, and now owns a total domestic gross of $75.7 million. Not at all bad for a flick that cost $11 million to produce.
Posts
3 comments:
well said about Christmas Gifts
Nice illustration at the top. Really like it.
One of my father's Christmas cards. Of which there will be more later.
Post a Comment