The box office is going to be trampled by some zoo animals and a crazy lemur as Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa storms multiplexes this weekend. Anticipation is high for this sequel and if the excitement level of my kids is any indication, the sequel is going to sail past the original Madagascar’s first weekend take of $47.2M. Both Ice Age 2: The Meltdown and Shrek 2 enjoyed huge surges on their opening weekend in comparison to their predecessors, and Madagascar 2 should be no different. I would look for a surge of about 40% putting Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa at about $65M for the weekend.

Sean William Scott and Paul Rudd star in Role Models, a comedy about two men who are ordered by the court to be… well… role models to two troubled kids. Neither of these stars has ever really successfully anchored a hit film by themselves, but I think together, they can certainly strike box office gold. The reviews have been solid and there isn’t much comedy competition other than Zack and Miri out there. I think Role Models could gross about $17M this weekend.

The last new release this weekend is Soul Men, starring Samuel L. Jackson and the late Bernie Mac. They play the last two remaining members of a popular band from the 70’s, who take a trip to NYC to play one last show. Although this is Bernie Mac’s last starring vehicle, reviews have been mixed at best and I don’t expect a very large turnout. Soul Men should open somewhere in the vicinity of $7M. To see the rest of my predictions, see the chart below.