DreamWorks Animation announced that Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa made box office history in both Russia and the Ukraine over the weekend. The animated sequel bowed Friday in Russia to the biggest opening day ever for an American film, and scored the biggest opening day of all time in Ukraine. Paramount Pictures is handling worldwide distribution.
Escape opened on 841 screens in Russia and grossed $2.81 million, the country’s second biggest opening of all time. In the Ukraine, the film debuted on 92 screens to gross $396,000.
Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation, comments, “These numbers are confirmation of the worldwide popularity of the characters from the original film and the strength of the storytelling in the sequel. We are looking forward with enthusiasm to its worldwide release and domestic opening on Nov. 7."
In Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, Melman the giraffe, Gloria the hippo, King Julien, Maurice and the penguins all return for another wild adventure that begins when the penguins repair an old, crashed airplane and keep it in the air just long enough to reach the vast plains of Africa. Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer and Andy Richter reprise their voice roles for the film, which is co-directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath, and produced by Mireille Soria and Mark Swift.
