Sony’s Quantum of Solace, the latest James Bond thriller starring Daniel Craig, debuted as the No. 1 movie in North America over the weekend. With no other new wide releases to contend with, the return of Agent 007 raked in an estimated $70.4 million and knocked DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa down a peg to the No. 2 spot.
Deriving its title from a 1960 short story by Ian Fleming, Quantum of Solace plays like a continuation of Casino Royale. As he seeks revenge for the death of Vesper Lynd, Bond sets out to stop an environmentalist from taking control of a country’s water supply in this action-packed international blockbuster that has already earned roughly $322 million worldwide. Most of the visual effects for the movie were handled by The Moving Picture Company, Double Negative, Framestore CFC and Machine FX.
The Madagascar sequel took in another $36 million, bringing its two-week domestic take to approximately $118 million. Foreign receipts so far add up to about $40 million for a worldwide total of roughly $158 million. Made for $150 million, the pic may end up out-earning its predecessor, which opened in the summer of 2005 and made more than $534 million worldwide. Escape has the family market covered until Disney steals its thunder Friday with the debut of Bolt, which will screen in 3-D in select theaters.
The R-rated Universal comedy Role Models made another $11.7 million (est.) for a third-place finish, followed by Disney’s High School Musical 3: Senior Year with about $6.8 million and Universals Changeling with approximately $4.2 million.
