'Madagascar' takes over top box-office spot with $28.7 million

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A talking lion became king of the box office as the animated tale ``Madagascar'' climbed to the No. 1 spot with $28.7 million in its second weekend. <br/><br/>At No. 2 was Adam

Tuesday, May 31st 2005, 10:31 am

By: News On 6

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A talking lion became king of the box office as the animated tale ``Madagascar'' climbed to the No. 1 spot with $28.7 million in its second weekend.

At No. 2 was Adam Sandler's football remake ``The Longest Yard,'' which took in $26.1 million in its second weekend.

That left third place to ``Star Wars: Episode III _ Revenge of the Sith,'' which grossed $26 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

``Madagascar,'' featuring the voice of Ben Stiller as a zoo lion returned to the wild, debuted at No. 2 a week earlier and took over first-place from ``Revenge of the Sith,'' which had held the top spot for two weekends.

While those three holdovers remained strong draws, the weekend's new movies debuted quietly, contributing to Hollywood's 15th-straight weekend of declining revenues compared to last year.

The top 12 movies grossed a solid $128.3 million, yet that was off 30 percent from the same weekend in 2004, when ``Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' opened with $93.7 million.

Ron Howard's ``Cinderella Man,'' starring Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger in the story of Depression-era boxer Jim Braddock, led the newcomers, debuting at No. 4 with $18.6 million.

The teenage gal-pal tale ``The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'' opened in fifth place with $10.25 million, while the skateboarding saga ``Lords of Dogtown'' premiered at sixth with $5.7 million.

``Cinderella Man'' distributor Universal is trying the same strategy it used successfully with another Depression-era sporting drama, 2003's ``Seabiscuit,'' counter-programming the sober yet uplifting story amid the summer popcorn flicks. ``Seabiscuit'' had a $20.9 million opening weekend and held on to ring up $120.3 million domestically and score a best-picture Oscar nomination.

But Universal had counted on a better debut for ``Cinderella Man,'' which reunites Howard, Crowe and producer Brian Grazer, the team behind the 2001 Academy Awards champion ``A Beautiful Mind.''

``Putting this human drama against these big summer behemoths may have proved too calculated a risk, but one we're going to support it all the way through summer and into Academy Awards season,'' Universal Pictures Chairman Stacey Snider said.

Topping the $300 million mark in its 17th day of release Saturday, ``Revenge of the Sith'' became the fastest film to hit that level, beating the record set last year by ``Shrek 2,'' which passed $300 million in 18 days.

At $308.8 million through Sunday, ``Revenge of the Sith'' was just $2 million behind the total domestic haul of ``Star Wars: Episode II _ Attack of the Clones.'' 20th Century Fox expects it to top $400 million and possibly rival the $431 million domestic total of ``Episode I _ The Phantom Menace,'' said Bruce Snyder, the studio's head of distribution.

``Madagascar'' lifted its domestic gross to $101 million, while ``The Longest Yard'' climbed to $95.8 million, both after 10 days in release.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. ``Madagascar,'' $28.7 million.

2. ``The Longest Yard,'' $26.1 million.

3. ``Star Wars: Episode III _ Revenge of the Sith,'' $26 million.

4. ``Cinderella Man,'' $18.6 million.

5. ``The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,'' $10.25 million.

6. ``Lords of Dogtown,'' $5.7 million.

7. ``Monster-in-Law,'' $5.3 million.

8. ``Crash,'' $3.3 million.

9. ``Kicking & Screaming,'' $2.1 million.

10. ``Unleashed,'' $900,000.