The box office had its biggest November opening in four years this weekend thanks mostly to a family-friendly sequel, but bolstered by a couple of R-rated comedies as well. The PG-rated Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa stampeded to the top of the charts with $63.5 million, the biggest opening since The Dark Knight, taking the title of the top animated debut of the year–yes, ahead of Wall-E. Thanks to the wonders of counter-programming and a dearth of decent comedies in the cineplexes right now, Role Models made a higher-than-expected debut at No. 2 with $19.25 million. Bernie Mac's final bow, Soul Men, didn't fare as well, thanks to mostly negative reviews, staggering into the No. 6 spot with $5.6 million.
Most of rest of the top 10 held up pretty well, with High School Musical 3: Senior Year falling to No. 3 in its third week with $9.3 million, Changeling holding steady at No. 4 with $7.28 million, and Zack And Miri Make A Porno making a modest 35 percent drop to No. 5 with $6.52 million. Saw V saw a greater drop-off in its post-Halloween phase, taking No. 7 with $4.2 million. The Haunting Of Molly Hartley fared a little better, percentage-wise, but still just crossed the $10 million mark this week with its No. 8 showing and $3.49 million take. The Secret Life Of Bees dropped only 22.1 percent since last week, placing it at No. 9 with $3.13 million, and the resilient Eagle Eye made its presumably final showing in its seventh week with $2.59 million at No. 10.
More detailed numbers can be found at boxofficemojo.com.