"Madagascar" KOs "Man"

Thanks to its cadre of cartoon critters, Madagascar proved to be lord of the box-office jungle this weekend.

The zoo crew racked up $28.1 million in its second weekend to move up from second place to first, per studio tallies Monday, in what is now the 15th consecutive down week from last year.

Also moving up, The Longest Yard, which earned $26.1 million in its second week.

The prison pigskin comedy finished a touchdown ahead of Star Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith. After two weeks on top, the prequel slipped to third place with $25.1 million.

This week's top new contender, Cinderella Man, didn't have enough punch to debut higher than fourth place. The Russell Crowe-led Depression tale of pugilist James J. Braddock slugged its way to $18.3 million.

Also making a splash in its first week was the young-girl-targeted dramedy The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which fitted in to fifth place with $9.8 million.

That was nearly double Lords of Dogtown. The boy skateboarding nostalgia trip took a header, rolling in with just $5.6 million in seventh.

Overall, the top 12 films grossed $126.9 million, down 29 percent from last weekend and 31 percent below last year when Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban debuted with $93.6 million and Shrek 2 was still going strong in its third week with $37.9 million.

Madagascar, this year's DreamWorks 'toon of choice, added 11 theaters to play at 4,142, where it averaged $6,787. Its three-day gross was down only 40 percent from last week--a sign the PG flick will have legs. After two weeks, the film has already passed the $100 million mark, with a total $100.4 million in ticket sales.

Paramount's Adam Sandler-powered remake of The Longest Yard was off 45 percent from its opening weekend, but it averaged a strong $7,176 at 3,634 sites and has now grossed $95.8 million

The Fox-distributed Revenge of the Sith fell 55 percent, but continued to be a big draw, averaging $6,874 per site at 3,650 locations. The Skywalker saga set yet another record, reaching the $300 million milestone in 17 days--one quicker than Shrek 2--and has now grossed $307.9 million.

Already designated as the leading Oscar contender of 2005, Universal's PG-13 Cinderella Man opened at 2,812 sites, where it averaged $6,515. Attracting an older audience, the Ron Howard-helmed endeavor, costarring Renée Zellweger, Paul Giamatti and Craig Bierko, is following a similar rollout to the studio's like-themed 2003 darkhorse drama Seabiscuit, which earned seven Academy Award nominations.

"Putting this human drama against these big summer behemoths may have proved too calculated a risk, but one we are going to support all the way through summer and into Academy Award season," Universal Pictures Chairman Stacey Snider told the Associated Press after Cinderella Man debuted below expectations.

Warners' PG-rated The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, adapted from the novel about a quartet of girls who venture on separate summer vacations but manage to bond over a shared pair of trousers and starring TV's Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel, sewed up a per-theater average of $3,807 at 2,529 sites.

Sony's PG-13 The Lords of Dogtown, a dramatization of the birth of modern skateboarding based on the 2002 documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys with a cast that includes Johnny Knoxville, Emile Hirsch and Heath Ledger, skidded into 1,865 locations, where it averaged $3,015.

In limited release, the R-rated Newmarket documentary Rock School opened at 32 sites and grossed $28,000 for an average of just $879.

Here's a rundown of the top 10 films based on studio figures compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. Madagascar, $28.1 million
2. The Longest Yard, $26.1 million
3. Stars Wars: Episode III--Revenge of the Sith, $25.1 million
4. Cinderella Man, $18.3 million
5. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, $9.8 million
6. Monster-in-Law, $6 million
7. Lords of Dogtown, $5.6 million
8. Crash, $3.3 million
9. Kicking & Screaming, $2.3 million
10. Unleashed, $842,000

(Originally published June 5, 2005 at 1:35 p.m. PT.)