Madagascar is the King of the Box Office Jungle  6/6/05

DreamWorks' 'Madagascar' Is King of the Box Office Jungle

GLENDALE, Calif., June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Proving itself to be a rare breed indeed, DreamWorks Animation's computer-animated comedy "Madagascar" became one of the very few films in history to climb up a rung to the top of the box office in its second week in release, taking in an estimated $28.1 million. After opening in second position over the long Memorial Day holiday weekend, "Madagascar" eclipsed its competition this weekend, not only emerging as the top-grossing film, but also crossing the 100 million dollar mark on only its 10th day in release. The picture has now grossed an estimated $100.4 million to date.

In making the announcement, DreamWorks head of distribution Jim Tharp stated, "'Madagascar' is a crowd-pleasing film for every demographic, and we could not be more thrilled by taking the top spot at the box office. Word of mouth on the picture has been extremely positive across the board, and we fully expect 'Madagascar' to continue to perform strongly as we head into the weeks of summer vacation."

"Madagascar" stars the voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer and Jada Pinkett Smith as four pampered zoo animals living in blissful captivity at the Central Park Zoo. But when these four native New Yorkers find themselves washed ashore on the island of Madagascar, they learn the true meaning of the phrase "It's a jungle out there." The main voice cast also includes Sacha Baron Cohen, Cedric The Entertainer and Andy Richter. "Madagascar" was directed by Eric Darnell and Tom McGrath and produced by Mireille Soria, with Teresa Cheng co-producing. The screenplay was written by Mark Burton & Billy Frolick and Eric Darnell & Tom McGrath.

DreamWorks Animation SKG (NYSE: DWA) is devoted to producing high-quality family entertainment through the use of computer-generated (CG) animation. Utilizing world-class creative talent and state-of-the-art technological capabilities, the company is committed to making two computer-animated feature films a year that appeal to a broad movie-going audience. SOURCE DreamWorks Animation SKG

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