By Zanub Saeed
The third installment in DreamWorks' animated franchise film series "Madagascar," called "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted" came in at number one in the domestic box office for the Father's Day Weekend, bringing in $35.5 million in the United States and Canada from June 15 -17.
This is the second week the third "Madagascar" film came in at number one in the box office - last week, the Paramount and DreamWorks Animation feature debuted theaters across the country and world, and made an estimated $60.3 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to top box office website BoxOfficeMojo.com. So far, the film ahs earned an estimated $120.5 million in the domestic box office, and $157 million overseas for an overall gross of about $277 million in its first days of opening, said Variety.
"Madagascar 3," starring the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jessica Chastain, Martin Short, and Frances McDormand, out-performed two movies that made their debuts in theaters this weekend, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema's musical "Rock of Ages" and Sony Pictures' "That's My Boy."
"Rock of Ages," starring Tom Cruise, Alec Baldwin, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Russell Brand, and Julianne Hough, brought in $15 million this weekend domestically in about 3,470 theatres, while "That's My Boy," the comedy starring Adam Sandler and Andy Samberg, made an estimated $13 million, according to BoxOfficeMojo and Variety. "Rock of Ages" had an approximate budget of $75 million, noted Variety, while "That's My Boy" cost around $65 million to produce.
Warner Bros President of domestic distribution, Dan Fellman, defended "Rock of Ages"' performance, citing "Female-skewing movies tend to play better mid-weekSo we'll see if we can play a little catch-up," he told Variety.
Twentieth Century Fox's science-fiction action drama "Prometheus," starring Charlize Theron and Michael Fassbender, stayed in the number two position this weekend, bringing in another $20 million, and now has made over $88.8 million domestically, and $217.5 million globally, according to statistics listed on BoxOfficeMojo.
"Madagascar 3" may face stiff competition this coming weekend, where it will go against fellow animated feature "Brave," as well as "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter."
